Dark Horse
by Of-Thieves-and-Liars
Summary: They needed him, they always needed him but now she was there. She wasn't a case to solve but she was an enigma and more then that she was an annoyance. No season 3 spoilers. Recently revised, Please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

Hey, Thieves here, so here goes nothing I guess. Are you ready for a journey into this little part of my mind. If you are then, well, let's hope this pleases you. On that note I do not reside in a British nation so my terminology will be spotty at best. and for my purposes, and to not ruin the new season I am ignoring those events entirely.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but seriously, nothing, i make no money from this but I have a hell of a lot of fun doing it.

Preview: in which Sherlock meets new people and is less than pleased.

John sat in his chair watching his friends before him. Sherlock stood at the window his arms laced behind his back, cloaked in his dark blue dressing gown and his hair a mess of dark curls. His appearance that of a man at rest though his posture could be that of e decorated general. He had been caseless for days and it was wearing John thin. He was the face of stoic defiance as Lestrade tried his best to persuade him to accept the case he was being presented. Five days prior a women's body had been discovered under suspicious circumstances. That day Sherlock had been wired, ready to be called back into the game but they had never shown. A week later and two more bodies and they had just now shown up at the door. John smirked a bit behind his cup, Sherlock was going to take the case, he had been going on about it for days doing as much research as he could but he was displeased they hadn't called in sooner so he was making the DI sweat a bit.  
"Come on Sherlock, that's three girls this week and we have nothing, I need you"  
Sherlock grunted, they did need him, they always needed him but since his return six months before they were still a bit slow to consult him. He turned to face Lestrade and read the deductions from him. His face was deeper creased, the bags beneath his eyes darker then most days so he was getting less sleep. His back was hunched and stiff when he walked there was a slight limp to in his step. He had slept on the small sofa in his office at least twice this week but his divorce had been finalized several weeks back so he wasn't staying there to avoid family issues. The press had been rather interested in this case so likely avoiding their eyes. His clothing wrinkled and he had a slightly stale smell to him. He had not changed since the day before and had consumed alcohol on the last twenty four hours. Sherlock took a another deep breath, cigarette smoke, the DI was smoking again.  
High stress, lack of sleep, alcohol and nicotine, they did need him.  
"How did you survive?" Lestrade popped an eye brow looking at John in question.  
"In my absence, how has all of London's considerable criminal community not over whelmed your teams obvious stupidity" he added a little sneer to team as he spun around quickly and with a flourish produced his violin and began to pluck. John shuddered, he had believed his greatest friend dead for two years. When he returned John was ashamed to admit he had not been outwardly pleased their first few interaction after his amazing return had ended in one sided fist fights. But when a bit of time had passed, and a a case that left them both feeling back on their game John had accept it was time to rebuild what he had been so divested to had done just as he had asked and stopped being dead and now several months later he was finding it easier and easier to pretend the fall had never happened at all. He tried to pretend he didn't sometimes wake up sweat pouring down his face and gasping for breath, yelling his friends name in desperation as he relived the moments of his jump in his sleep. Sherlock did him the service of never bringing it up, or mentioning the times he felt John watching him intently from across the room as if to assure him self it had been real.  
"John" Lestrade begged him for some form of support  
"Yes" Sherlock exclaimed loudly causing both men to jump.  
"ah, no, Sherlock, I have work" John gave the DI an apologetic glance.  
"Boring" he spun dropped his instrument into his chair and stood facing John his eyes shining a bit, wether from madness or excitement John wasn't sure.  
"John, innocent women are dying and you want to go to work, cure colds perhaps" John sighed but was already pulling out his mobile to call in. Sherlock gave a satisfied nod and ran to pull on his coat and scarf.  
"So he's coming then?"Lestrade smiled, the first true smile since this whole thing had started. He had been getting hell from this case.  
"First I need full access to the corpses" Lestrade nodded in consent to Sherlock's demand. Three women found dead this week all the same his team was stumped and working their hardest to find answers but they had made no head way. People wanted to know how to protect themselves and he wasn't even sure how these girls had died let alone how it could of be avoided. He had been dodging press all week with little success. The public was demanding for him to solve this one before more were found.  
"He hasn't shut up about this case since the first body. I'm honestly surprised he even waited for your invitation" John confessed as the walked down the stairs.  
"He has been working on it since the first body. Even tried to get Molly to let him take a look"

"Good, I need this case solved" John smiled at his friend placing a well meaning hand on his shoulder.  
"You look like shit Greg" his only response was a heavy sight as he headed for his car. Sherlock flagged down a taxi with ease and the men climbed in together.  
"You could be a bit nicer to him you know" John looked to Sherlock while the consulting detective watched London pass them by.  
"He got in a lot of trouble for the cases you helped with after," John trailed off for a moment. They didn't talk about it.

"he was nearly fired"  
"What does it matter who solved the cases, they were solved" Sherlock still didn't pull away from his view.  
"If it was so much of hassle for him why is he asking for my help now?"  
"Like he said he needs you" they both smiled at that.  
As soon as they arrived at Bart's Sherlock swept into the morgue startling Molly as she leaned over her current autopsy.  
"The three females from Lestrade's current case" Sherlock demanded with out a greeting.  
"He means hello Molly, when your not busy could we take a look at the victims"  
"Isn't that what I said?" Sherlock's brows rose in question at the former army doctor. John gave him a disapproving look.  
" um yeah well, could you give me a moment my hands are a bit" Molly gestured with her bloodied gloves. Sherlock stepped closer to the corpse and breathed deeply. His eyes gave an analytical scan first of his outer appearance then within his cavity that lay open in front of them.  
"54 year old male, in married, high stress job and appalling eating habits resulting in two heart attacks. The final one of which took his life."  
"But he died in a car accident" Molly looked pale, she tried to never contradict him.  
" He left for work this morning but not before stopping at a fast food establishment and gorging himself. After his meal he began his drive but shortly into it began to feel chest pains. There are fabric threads under his nails but only his left hand because his right stayed on the wheel while he clawed at his chest. He soon lost conciseness and the weight of his body falling forward swerved his car into on coming traffic where he was hit head on. The wounds on the top of his head and face could only happen if he was leaning over the wheel face down, not a good position to drive in if you were alert. He died due to bad eating habits despite having been going to the gym for the last month at his doctors orders. The sweat around his collar despite the cooler weather this last week and slight muscling in his legs despite obviously havering a desk job. Case closed, now the women?" Molly looked stunned but shook herself from her stupor and pulled her gloves off. Pulling the bodies out as he had requested. John shook his head at the mans antics. Sherlock chose to ignore him.  
The three victims laid before them Molly moved to uncover their faces but Sherlock stripped the sheets of each so they lay bare. John cringed at his lack of sympathy for the women who had died so young but he had learned long ago to roll with what ever the genius did. He scanned each body himself his mind going into a more professional tone.  
They were all in the same age group, mid twenties to early thirties. Their body types where also remarkably similar. Well shaped arms and torsos with ample cleavage and a slim waist and long toned legs, Obviously attractive. The only mar to their perfection the Y shaped red lines with black thread lacing them closed. They differed in hair color, two brunets and a blond but symmetrical facial features. Wide eyes, thick lashes, this noses, and plump lips. They all looked to be in their prime. Clearly caring for themselves. Sherlock was running his eyes over them. Their face clear of make up already so he could not read their personality from that. Molly had washed them before their examination so what ever she found would have already been sent to the lab. Their faces looked younger their they really were, their bodies finely muscled so they worked for their looks, nails all neatly trimmed but not self manicured so they indulged. None married. Signs of sexual intercross though not forced so not rape. They looked to be self confident. In the papers along with the research he had done prior to that afternoon he knew their families spoke of strong women who enjoyed life, the heart of a party over by everyone, adored by the opposite sex in particular. But all poisoned, none had ties to each other out side of their general personality traits. Different careers, different social circles, different friends, no family ties, no jealous exes in common, all died in different places, different times of day, different food, no correlating restaurants. The first was found dead in her office after a meeting when a friend went to retrieve her for lunch. The second in her bed after a night partying, her bed partner had been rather surprised and questioned though Sherlock could have told them he was not involved and saved them the time had they called on him sooner. The final had been that day, she had been running her normal morning regimen at her gym when she had simply dropped dead.  
" John I need you to go to Lestrade question anyone who saw the third women that morning in the gym particularly any heterosexual males who would have taken notice of her. Molly send me blood samples and stomach contents of each victim as wells a your full reports, I will be in my lab" John turned to leave on the consulting detectives command.  
"Oh, but..." Molly tired to call after them as they swept out of her morgue,  
"But that labs not empty anymore" Molly pulled the files and ran out after them, hoping to catch them before anything dramatic happened. The new lab tech could be a bit possessive.

John tried to match pace with the detective but Sherlock was in the throughs of what was proving to be at least an 8 when he suddenly stopped John all but crashed into him.  
" What is that sound?" John finally noticed a dull thumping noise in the normally silent halls. As they started to move closer to Sherlock's former home away from home the music became more distinct. Thought Sherlock had more then proven his innocence the Yard had been rather clear. He was to stay away from cases until they felt ready to completely bring him back into the fold. Though it seemed to cause him physical pain Sherlock had grudgingly agreed. Part of his probation included limited access to the highly stocked labs he had once lived in. John grimaced while Sherlock brought his hands up to cover his ears, it was rap, very loud rap pumping out of the lab causing the very walls to vibrate. As they pushed inside Sherlock looked ready to snap. A women stood her eyes fully focused on the fluids in the pipet in her hand as it hovered over several different tubes of chemical. She was dropping measured amount of liquid into each test before her. Sherlock found the box producing the sounds and all but smashed to power button to silence it. The cut from sound to silence was so sudden John felt his ears pop. The techs head spun to them.  
"Who the hell do you think you are?" She screeched eyes flashing between the two men.  
"I know exactly who I am the question is who are you" Sherlock stalked forward like a cat on the prowl. He took in her stance over the desk, hunched but not uncomfortably so so she was accustom to the position, experienced then. The tests she was running required little skill but plenty of schooling so a graduate but recently appearance,which was to say a bit unorthodox was striking in that instead of subtle clues he felt as though it was screaming at him. She had volumes of unnatural black hair that was bunched up into two messy, misshapen buns at the crest of her head giving her the appearance of having animal like ears, her lids were heavily made up with shades of black, teal, and thickly applied gold glitter eye liner beneath them she had green eyes, her lips thick and tinted dark red, her nose was pierced along with several metal studs in each ear. From one lobe dangled a black feather while the other a simply golden stud. A black lace necklace wrapped around her throat just above her cleavage which was easily visible under her tight black shirt was a teal colored gem. Her legs where tightly wrapped in black skinny jeans covered in rows of zippers a few on her thighs and knees were open a bit revealing lightly tanned skin. Her shoes where thick boots with gold metal buckles strapped around them. She was neither under nor over weight but her body had a thin quality to it. Her facial structure was this as well, cheeks slightly hollow beneath high cheek bones. Her eyes seemed large a round when paired with her pointed chin and small nose.  
"Who the hell are you bean pole, this my lab and you're starting to piss me off."  
"You are running a battery of tests that require at least an higher education in forensics though your technique leans more towards the career of chemist, perhaps a change in heart when you realized all you would get is a cubical with a child's chemistry set, no spot light in chemistry so you like the spot light, solving crimes, being the hero like the stories you enjoy reading so much. You hair and general disregard for self image says you are good, perhaps a bit over confident but deemed valuable enough that no one has corrected you. You work for Lestrade but he didn't warn you about me so he assumed we wouldn't meet at least not yet which means he doesn't know your going behind his back and working on the case with. Out him. So you think yourself better then your own boss, but you only started working for him less then two years ago, just after you graduated with honors. A bit late for a women in her thirties so most likely you escaped from a relationship, most likely found him sleeping with another though you always expected it from him by the fact you wore the ring for less then a month. You are American judging by your accent, a bit far for. Home so running from a failed relationship you fell into this field, most likely watching too many crime show on the telly." Sherlock smirked with self satisfaction, the reaction was always the best part.  
"Ok, but why the hell did you touch my music" Sherlock looked shocked. Nothing, no reaction, no exclamation of surprise, not impressed awe or the usual "piss off". Her thin obviously self sculpted black brow rose to challenge him in question.  
"So Lestrade did tell you of me"  
"Nope, but when people do a swan dive off the building then come back to life people tend to notice. Plus" she added as she came around to her stereo system.  
"I read his blog" she added, her lips pulling into a smile showing off dazzling white teeth against her dark lip stick. Her teeth even seemed sharper and more dangerous. For a moment Sherlock found himself comparing her to The Women but he brushed the thought aside as she pushed out her hand to John.  
"Jack Macotii, it an honor to meet you " she gave him a warmer smile then she had given Sherlock. John found her skin warn and soft even with the cold metal rings that littered a few of her fingers.  
"John is fine" he already liked her not many could cut off Sherlock the way she had so far.  
"Then I insist you call me Jack" she turned back on the music, John flinched at the noise taking a step back to escape the pounding base but Sherlock quickly stopped it again, this time pulling the plug roughly from the wall. .  
"That is not your real name" her gaze didn't lift from John.  
"No, it is not" she confirmed. Sherlock opened his mouth to speak again but to his utter disgust she slapped her hand over his mouth. The metal encircling her fingers bit into his flesh a bit but as much as the physical contact was making him squirm he found her eyes the most penetrating part of the exchange. The green seemed cold and hard. She wouldn't be swayed as easily as others.  
"Let's cut the chase here shall we mister Holmes. I want to get my work done, you want to use my lab fine but under my rules. You don't touch my work, you don't talk to me while I am focused, and you do not touch my music." His eyes seemed to express enough dissatisfaction that he didn't need his mouth.  
"There are noise canceling head phones on the wall if you want but if I'm here so is my music so either put up of shut up" she pulled her hand away and the two stared unblinking for a few moments silently battling.  
"I believe you were going to find Lestrade John."  
"Um, yes, sorry. Jack it was lovely" She gave him one last bright smile before plugging in the stereo system and dropping back into her work. Sherlock watched her for a moment trying to deduce anything else. She had not corrected him on anything but he had an unsettling feeling in his gut he had gotten something wrong.  
"You should wear gloves when working with acids"He lectured but she made no move in response wether ignoring him intentionally or not he was unsure. He pulled the head phones onto his head and pulled out the equipment he would be needing. Molly pushed her way in and smiled at the two though only Sherlock made any acknowledgment of her in taking what samples she brought him. She was becoming fast friends with Jack since Lestrade had hired the dark haired misfit only a few months after Sherlock's supposed death. Sherlock gave the annoyance one last heated glare. The sounds were being blocked effectively by the device across his head but the boom he felt in his chest at each base hit would be hard to ignore. He drew himself closer to begin. Resigning himself to have a word with Molly latter for only bringing him half of the samples he had ordered.

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Ok so you met Jack, Sherlock is less then thrilled and John has no clue what to think of the little punk. I tried doctoring this chapter a bit to add a tad but more character.

Well tell what ya think. What ya want, and what ya hate and I will do my best to appease you oh great and wonderful readers.


	2. Chapter 2

Well hello, Thieves again so we go for chapter two. Agian, hope you are enjoying this fun I'm having if not, well, then, You should... Anywho.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but seriously, nothing, i make no money from this but I have a hell of a lot of fun doing it.

Preview: In which Jack shows off a bit and Sherlock grudgingly admits (at least to himself) that he may have been off on a few of his deduction about her.

Jack stood up strait and scanned her lab, she had kept herself here for far longer then she had anticipated but when she was working a case she often found time meant very little. When she had first arrived people had commended her for being dedicated but as time passed the started looking at her like she was a freak. Her strange attire and general attitude only fueled the flames with most. She could spend days watching bacteria form and had better conversations with the mass spectrometer then she did with any of her coworkers.  
Sherlock was still sitting at his own microscope scanning through the slides she had been preparing when he had so rudely come in the night before. He had been less then happy to find Molly could only supply him the blood samples because the stomach contents he had been counting on had already been claimed by the tech before he had a chance. Her back popped as her stretched out and for the first time noticed the man with dusty blond hair snoozing on the ground behind the lanky detective. Several stacked files lay around him, a picture of each victim pinned to the front, the papers Sherlock had asked for no doubt. The head phones tightly clamped around his head while he drooled slightly into his shoulder gave him a nearly child like appearance despite his age and the slight creasing around his eyes Jack felt warm at the sight, it was almost domestic looking. Sherlock's head came up and followed her gaze to his friend, they both glanced at the clock.  
Several hours had passed since either had paid any notice to each other, she walked to her stereo and rolled down the volume to a more manageable volume. He pulled off the head phones and messaged his ears that had been trapped under the restrictive plastic for so long his dark mop looked fluffy, she got the distinct impression he had ruffled it in frustration at some point in the night. He noticed the genre of the music playing had changed, now a fast paced dub step. He wondered for a moment if all the songs were mixed or if she had deliberately changed it to something a bit more lively to keep herself awake. Sherlock spun around in his chair and swiped the head phones from John's head causing the smaller man to jump up, his shoulder slammed painfully into the desk that had been supporting him and Jack gave a sympathetic wince.  
"Your findings are correct" Sherlock muttered as he pulled off the gloves he had slipped on only an hour or so before.  
"Didn't thing they were wrong but thanks" she laughed as she pushed her self away from the table and went to stand again. She wobbled a bit and John caught her, for the first time he noticed how small she was, a few inches shorter them himself and John was not known for his height.  
" Alright there Jack?" He asked concerned as he offered his arm to steady her but she brushed it off with a laugh. Sherlock noted her eyes were blood shot and her skin a bit pale and waxy looking. Her reflexes slow to react, her hair looked greasy now in the morning light coming through the windows though her caked of face remained intact.  
"Of course doctor, never better"  
"Judging by the pallor of her skin and from listening to Molly when she passed yesterday day on her way out for an evening with a new love interest Miss Macotii has been in this lab since the third body was found 27 hours ago she has not eaten in that time, most likely by her state it's been even longer since she has showered." His nose crinkled as he moved closer to them both.  
"Spoilsport" she muttered as she pushed past both men, a stack of files on her arm.  
"Jack!" John exclaimed. He had long ago accepted that he and Sherlock would never see eye to eye on what it meant to care for ones self but it seemed even more surprising when the girl seemed so small despite her hard looks she seemed almost fragile now.  
"It is not a big deal John, I tend not to eat much when I'm on a case, I just get to distracted to remember food" Sherlock stared holes into the back of her head, her words to near to his own. He ignored the pointed look John was giving him in leu of pulling ahead of them all to hail a taxi as the exited Bart's.  
" We're heading to New Scotland Yard, why don't you join us?" John offered, holding the door open for her. Sherlock breath rushed out in a sigh. He had almost felt excitement in leavening the girl on the steps of the hospital and taking John with him but ever the gentleman his friend was.  
"Sure but only to annoy him a bit more" she winked as she slid in beside Sherlock. She looked almost mischievous as she crossed one leg over the other delicately working to take up more space then necessary to push up against Sherlock invading his personal space.  
John and Jack found conversation easy as they talked about their back round surrounding Bart's and people they had in common while Sherlock watched her out of the corner of his eye. He could feel her outer thigh pressed against him. She gestured often with her hands due in some part to her Italian heritage no doubt and with most movements her elbow dig into his ribs though she paid him no notice. He had deduced that she had changed career but she was good at her job, finding several compounds in the stomach acid that he grudgingly had to admit he had not thought to look for. So perhaps she not so much fell into this path, perhaps she held a position in a field similar to this one then, he had deduced she had the training of a chemist but there was no chemical burns past or present on her skin and she didn't wear the mask, goggles, gloves or coat while working and her lack of professional attire suggested recent graduate who had not learned her lesson when in came to protective equipment and it was not an old habit like you would find in an experienced chemist.  
She had not corrected him on his deductions so he could not read what had been right and wrong and that more then anything was frustrating him, taking up to much of his processing power that he could be applying to the case at hand. As they pulled up Sherlock flew from the taxi as if it was on fire.  
"In a hurry scare crow" she called after him, her arms linked with John's.  
"Your laugh is to high pitched and grates on my ears much like your music." He snarled as he pulled the doors open for himself and let it drop closed behind him. Jack gave John an amused smile as she skipped forward.  
" Don't get him riled up"  
"Oh there's no fun in that"  
"You don't have to live with him when he is being a monster" Jack seemed to consider his argument for a moment.  
"True, but you love it" she gave him another wink before ducking into Lestrade's office where Sherlock was already sulking.  
"oh, Jack, so what did you lot find?" Lestrade dropped his feet from his desk sitting up straighter and pulled open the files his lab tech handed over.  
"All three victims had several similarities in their stomachs and blood work. They all had very little to no food. There was Ostheomulgen found in the blood work. The drug causes nausea but only when food is presented into the system so once drugged they would have felt to queasy to eat. The was also Halfet amid PPRCH found I their blood work as well as in smaller traces in the stomach. They are heavy toxins usually used as a form of injection but when used as such sit in the muscles at the primary injection site and no such case was found however they could have been ingested though it's uncommon. Both have a very strong, bitter taste. If this was an attempt at a date rape drug it would be noticed. So they are either taking them willingly or someone is making the poisons more palatable." Lestrade glanced over her paper work before looking to Sherlock who was being uncommonly quite.  
"He knew you were there, you were not sneaking off to do side research, and he also did warn you I was coming which is why you had everything I needed to do the blood testing within reach" she didn't spare him a glance but there was a note of pride to her voice.  
"I prefer stomach contents, usually more fun to play with" John gave a surprised look between to two, she had some how manipulated the great Sherlock Holmes into doing her dirty work. Sherlock's gaze was cold. He didn't appreciate being manipulated especially since he hadn't noticed the manipulation to begin with. He glanced over her again but no new deduction sprang to mind, it was unsettling when the ones that he did see seemed so blazingly obvious.  
"They where all in the same age range though older then they appeared. Each was known for enjoying a good party and often drank though never alone. None are in a committed relationship though show signs of regular sexual intercourse but not rape. Two brunets and a blond if this was about sexual satisfaction there would be more parallels in the victims appearance. All three took care of their bodies but also had successful careers so you are wrong Miss Macotii. They have no previous drug history so I doubt they all suddenly decided to throw it all away for hit of a drug that would leave them feeling as you said sick until they dropped dead and not a date rape drug as they all seem to be missing the rather important aspect of being raped after. What you failed to deduce is that the levels in their blood are significantly higher then the amount in their stomach. They were poisoned several days before their death. Along with the toxin left over in their blood stream their kidneys were enlarged indicative of processing large amounts of toxin, could just be from the drinking you say but it's not. When the kidney is thinly sliced and placed under fluorescent light PPRCH show up in a slight pink glow. Based on the absorption patterns it was presented into their system in one large dose."  
"So we just have to find the club?" Lestrade looked excited, finely some headway on this case.  
"No, they all went to different establishments and only one was out the night before her death" Lestrade looked crest fallen.  
"Morons, all of you, how did you ever solve cases while I was dead"  
"Oi, we did just fine especially after we got Jack here, thanks to her I haven't needed you till now" Jack's eyes went wide as she cut to her boss, she had been idly listening trying to find if she had ever heard to use fluorescent light on organs and what other chemicals would glow in flesh. It could make for a fun experiment in her down time if she could find someone to provide her the body parts. But now she could feel the tall, dark haired mans starRe her thoughts had all but run dry. She knew he was unhappy with her not that she had helped the situation, her mother had once said she liked to cut off her nose just to spite her face. She had needled him, manipulated him, annoyed him, been overly friendly with his only friend and now she appeared to be replacing him. No their meeting thus far had been a little to much bang. He swept off quickly and John followed in his wake giving Greg a hard look for measure. Her head dropped back as she sighed in frustration.  
"Is there anything else you need sir?"  
"He is not always that a bad you know" she didn't answer him keeping her eyes closed.  
"If there is no other progress you can make with this case,"  
"I will see what I can do sir." She cut him off before he could suggest anything else. Not only was this case weighing on her mind but she found when ever there was lulls in cases Anderson would request her and his awkward stares and crude remarks would only serve to rile her up more today.  
" And, Jack" she respectively met his gaze when his tone took on a fatherly pitch.  
"Get some food" he gave her a warm smile and she responded in turn.

"Well I like her" John broke the silence in their flat while Sherlock lay curled on their sofa. His legs tucked close to his chest. He had changed into grey sweat pants and a loose shirt, his dressing gown back on as though he had not left at all. Sherlock only grunted in disagreement and flopped over so he was no longer facing out.  
"Save yourself the embarrassment of asking her to join the long line of women that can say they have dated John Watson. As I said before she broke off a relationship and you are not exactly the type she would want."  
"maybe you were wrong"  
"I was not wrong" Sherlock hissed his pale blue green eyes cutting into the blond as he spun around.  
"You were wrong, you said Lestrade didn't want her working on the case and that he didn't tell her you were coming in. You where wrong" He pointed at his friend for emphasis.  
"it's always something" he huffed as he returned to facing away.  
"Tea?" John offered as he left the room, here was no response from the genius as he pouted. Once he heard John moving about the kitchen Sherlock pulled up the sofa cushion and found his stash of nicotine patches, he placed three on his arm and quickly rolled down his sleeve to hide them. When John returned he could tell the change. He now lay flat out his hands together beneath his chin deep in his mind palace.  
Sherlock found he already had space dedicated to the dark girl he had found in his lab. There was his deduction and his questions some occupied both spaces. Even as he tried to pull forward details of the case he found she would float back into the forefront of his mind. As he tried to draw conclusions in the case he would find himself instead analyzing Jack Macotii. Jack was not her name, she had confirmed this but it's origin was unknown. Could be a shortening of her given name or a name she had simply pulled from a hat. He had noticed she was right handed but tended to do the smallest correction on a microscope with her left. Despite being American she seemed to drink far more tea then even John but her tea smelled spicier and much sweeter then was needed or healthy. He flexed his arm a bit to increase blood flow and better spread the nicotine through his system as he tried unsuccessfully to delete what he had learned of the annoying pig headed girl and refocus his attention on the mystery at hand.

Well then. The case continues, I made up poisons and such that don't exist, and Sherlock revert to child like pouting! Question, concerns...praise? I want to hear it all, mostly. Revised sorta, and you get to guess her name though if you get it you will have my eternal awe!

See ya soon

-Theives

p.s.- would you rather see the preview at the beginning or the preview for the next chapter at the end?


	3. Chapter 3

Thieves here, so I have this plan, I will publish when I have the next chapter written so there will be no huge breaks, at least, that's the plan so we shall see.

Disclaimer: so as you may have guessed I really don't own anything, I mean how great would it be if I did though.

Preview: John tries to be pleasant as always and Sherlock really makes that hard to accomplish.

Sherlock sat behind his own small lab set up he had been slowly rebuilding on the kitchen table. In his absence John had tried to remove the painful reminder and one of the first real signs that his return was to be permanent was when the chem lab had begun to return but he was finding he needed more equipment, better equipment but his lab at Bart's had been invaded by Jack. Everything had been moved to accommodate for her methods, her music, even with the head phones was stifling and then there was her presence itself which left him considerably more irritable then usual. No matter what he was doing there he seemed to leave with only with more deduction about the girl and worryingly even more questions. John shuffled in, his short hair on end and voice slightly muddled with sleep.  
"You didn't sleep then" Sherlock knew it wasn't a question. No matter the length of their of their friendship John always commented on his personal habits.  
" You could always go to Bart's. Jack is more then willing to share her lab with you. Mind you, you have been an absolute prick to her." John poured himself some tea and settled into his chair with the paper. Since their initial meeting Sherlock had been cold to her, only sharp retorts and cutting glares till John had walked in on the after shock of a blow out between the two after several days of stress it had unraveled into a shouting match between the them. Names had been called, several pieces of equipment broken from being thrown against a wall, which neither would own up to, and lines had been drawn. Sherlock refused to return and Jack was less then courteous last John had seen her. Molly had told him Jack had been given several days suspension for the damages.  
" I have work today" Sherlock continued his stare down with his equipment, daring it to be better and considering the ramifications of calling in a favor from his brother, he could have her fired, or at the very least transferred. Mycroft still owed him and he needed to get rid of her before John got to attached. While he settled with his thoughts John went about to prepare for his day. When he left for the surgery Sherlock was still un aware.  
As he sat in his office he tried not to let his mind wander while his patient explained their pains. The women in today was a frequent visitor.  
"Well, it burns, down there. Not just when I pee either, it's all the time. Please doctor, it's driven me mad and my man, he won't go down on me till it stops because he doesn't want his tongue burning or his cock" John tried not to look startled by her admission.  
"Any blood?" He asked  
"Not that time of the month"  
"In your urine, is there any blood in your urine?" She blushed red for a moment.  
"Not that I have seen but I can ask Dex"  
"Dex?" He almost didn't want the answer.  
" My boyfriend, he likes to monitor all my movements" John turned away for a moment to fake taking a look at his computer, he wasn't sure he could keep a professional face.  
"It sound like an Urinary Track infection. Drink lots of water, cranberry juice will help as well. You will urinate frequently but it will clear up in a few days. If not or if you start seeing blood when you relieve yourself come back in and I can prescribe you and antibiotic. For now there are some over the counter pain killers I can recommend but I should warn you they may change the color of your urine." He gave her a smile as she gathered herself to leave.  
"Such as" she asked  
"Blue" she looked almost to excited at the prospect.  
"oh, that I have to try then"  
"And Miss Craver, it won't effect your partner at all but I would recommend hold off on intercourse till this clears up." He guided her out the door and dropped into his chair as his mobile began to ring.  
" Watson" he answered.  
"If you had a patient come in with a history of large amounts of alcohol consumption but they have a hangover and need a quick remedy because they have a busy life style would you suggest anything with a high sugar content?"  
"I, wait who is this?"  
"Oh, right, Jack."  
"How did you get my number?"  
" DI Lestrade, in case Sherlock starts to bother me I'm ordered to call you but I needed some medical advice."  
"A bit to much on a night out?" He joked  
"What, no, the victims. Found something weird in their blood work and trying out a few theories."  
" um, usually you would so for salty, greasy, heavy foods to help soak up the alcohol."  
"My thoughts too, but nothing like that in their stomachs." John thought about it for a second.  
"You said they would have been really sick before, maybe they couldn't keep the food down."  
"No, they had a normal amount of stomach acid and no signs in the throat, mouth, or nasal cavity. If they up chucked at all that day it would be some where. I was thinking this maybe some new age remedy but my research isn't pulling anything up." She gave a frustrated sigh. John could hear her music in the background.  
"Have you been working on this since you got off suspension?" John hadn't seen her in three days. The news was all over the case but no new details had been released. It had been three days of hell. Even with a case as big as this one Sherlock had sequestered himself to the flat and was borderline neurotic right now with pent up tension and energy. He kept muttering to himself they would have to wait till he made a mistake, they always make mistakes.  
"What day is it?" John chuckled but when she didn't join him he was stunned to realize she was being serious.  
"Look, maybe you will work better if you step away for a bit, grab some food, maybe some sleep. How about you come with me to our flat, I will bring take away." He tried to sweeten the deal but he wasn't sure what she liked and how well she would receive the offer considering her last encounter with the consulting detective.  
" Are you asking me out or trying to use me to distract beanpole?" John flushed red. Happy she couldn't see him now.  
"um, no, not a date.I mean you're lovely but" she started laughing and he smiled as well. Her laugh always seemed light and young.  
" He is going a bit stir crazy to be honest and he might just have your answer locked away in that brain of his."  
"I would love to go out with you Dr. Watson. Say 7?" she asked and promptly hung up. John dropped his phone into his pocket and smiled. Either way something would happen this evening at 221b. He would have to be sure his gun was well hidden tonight. Not that he feared Sherlock lashing out in such a physical way, he much preferred destroying people personally and mentally but the wall could use with a bit less damage.

When John stepped into the flat Sherlock was still sitting in front of the complicated glass beakers and tubes.  
"What have you done?" He asked as John hung his jacket and walked into the kitchen.  
"What are you on about?" John wanted to make him think, though it appeared it was all he had done for the day.  
"You normally change when you get home to preserve your work clothing but instead you came here so you plan on changing soon but into something you consider nicer. You have not made comments on my daily activities so you consider what will be happening tonight to be more important then how I spent my day. If it was an old friend you would not be changing, and since you plan on staying in its someone you think can interact with me successfully. So what did you do?" There was a ring at the door down the stairs. John looked to the clock, only six.  
" Not a client but early for whomever you have invited for the evening"below them they could hear moving towards the door. John moved quickly up to his room to change and check for his pistol while Sherlock eyed the door suspiciously. John would never bring a date to the flat and he had not deduced a new relationship from the doctor. He had been at work all day and had burned through all his options in the staff and was to professional to hit on a patient.  
She waltzed in with several bags of food on her arm. Her dark locks pulled into a giant monstrosity on the top of her head like a small tornado had whipped it there though it once again looked dirty and unwashed. A few strands had fallen free to frame her face now done up in black and red with harsh silver eyeliner. Small silver gem stuck at the tear duct of each eye. The black feather in her left ear was now joined by sliver chain hanging from her right but her black shirt and zipper black pants but silver flat shoes. She had come strait from the lab, still smelling of chemicals, slightly decaying flesh and sterilizing agents. He always noticed though she had little regard for her hair or health she loved her thickly painted on face.  
"You?" He hissed, his hands came up to his hair.  
" of course, you called his mobile" she gave him a confused look and passed over one of the bags in her hands, he took it with out thought as she pushed past ignoring his outburst. He dropped the bag among the science equipment when he realized what he had done.  
"John changing then?" She asked as she unpacked her bags her tone light as if she was asking a passerby about the weather. Pulling out fresh vegetables and a package of raw chicken she cleared the counter a bit to make room for her things. John entered the room as if diffusing a bomb.  
"Just made it home. Thought we wouldn't see you till tonight?" He grimaced at Sherlock's lack of consideration for health concerns as he moved the bag out of the chemistry set and began to unpack with her.  
"Kicked out by Lestrade" both Sherlock and Jack answered together. John raised a brow at them but they ignored each other.  
"I thought I promised take away?" He noticed she was shifting through their cabinets pulling out cooking supplies moving around pickled body parts and jars of specimens with out a second glance though he supposed these things would seem a bit normal to her.  
"She doesn't eat unhealthy food, most likely to maintain her weight since she is mostly inactive in her personal and professional life." Jack smirked a bit and pushed a glass jar of fingers out of the way to retrieve a knife.  
"Mister Holmes, you make having a conversation impossible. How am I suppose to have a successful date if I can't answer for myself, unless you plan on going as 's date for the night." Sherlock blanched at the word date. He had not deduced that this was a date.  
"Not a date" John muttered, Sherlock rolled his eyes at her attempt to get a rise from him. She began to prep her food while she and John fell into mundane conversation about his day at the surgery, at that Sherlock toned them out. She was leaning casually against the counter, her clothing had changed since last he saw her her pants a deep red, her top tight like the others was still black. He could make out a few stains in the material from the different compounds had been working with. A red gem hung from a thick golden chain and her boots looked raggedy and militarian. She looked powerful and pulled attention though she shunned most personal contact so she was an introvert that seeked out attention, she was an enigma. He pulled himself from his observations and forced himself to look at the slide he had spent the day working over.

"He could help you"John gestured towards Sherlock.  
"Something tells me I am not exactly his favorite person"she smiled as she stirred.  
"He doesn't really like anyone but he worked with you that night" John tasted the spoon she handed to him and looked impressed.  
"We shared space, grudgingly, but he doesn't like me" she seemed sure.  
"He threw a beaker at me called me a few names I wasn't sure you could use in conversation, accused me of something's I have no idea how he came up with and then stormed out, sort of"  
"He threw a beaker?" She looked at him like he was mad, like that was the strangestart of their yelling match.  
"Can he not hear us?" Sherlock was buried with his face in his microscope.  
"He tunes me out when he is focused" She turned to face John seriously, he was startled by her sudden change in demeanor. Always playful even when she was spitting mad.  
"Lestrade was contacted yesterday. Someone in the FBI has contacted him about me. They want me for their lead Forensic Specialist position. It's unheard of, I'm less then five years out of uni and they went looking for me."  
"That's great! You even get to go back to the states" John exclaimed smiling broadly for her achievement.  
"Its not normal. I think some one put them up to it. Someone who wants my lab space and to get me out of the way." She looked pointedly at the consulting detective And ignoring the comment about her homeland.  
"He wouldn't" John could not finish his sentence. His fist curled tightly and he knew they would have it later over this.  
"Doesn't matter" she smiled and pulled out plates for them.  
"I turned them down, I'm more then satisfied with my lot." She piled the food onto the plates and smirked as she left the room moving into the sitting room to eat. Sherlock frowned slightly having been listening in for some time. John caught his look.  
"We are talking about this"John whispered harshly and slammed a plate down in front of him. Sherlock looked surprised to find she had plated a small portion of chicken and vegetables for him despite his rudeness. He couldn't deny it smelled appetizing. He tried a small taste and was dissatisfied when he enjoyed it. He pushed away the food and went back to his work.

When Sherlock looked up again John was cleaning dishes, the food had been moved from in front of him knowing he had no intention of going back to it.  
"You got Mycroft to help you get rid of Jack." He spun to face his tall friend. Sherlock looked pensive.  
"She was offered a chance at bettering herself and turned it down for petty revenge."  
"She wants you to help, to work with her. She is willing to share her lab with you. She agreed to come tonight so that she could bounce ideas about this case, your case, off you but no you had to be rude and try to get rid of her. Really, are you five."  
"So she left then?" Sherlock brushed off his friends scolding. John let out a heavy breath.  
"She fell off while we were talking, she's exhausted" John moved towards his room.  
"Leave her be" John commanded before heading for bed. Once he heard John's door pull closed he moved swiftly to his chair. She was flat out on the sofa, her hair wilder then before and her breaths even.  
"You must be a rather talented actress"He commented mildly. She cracked one eye open before sitting up slowly.  
"John is great but he goes on a bit doesn't he" Sherlock tilted his head in agreement.  
"A truce, we are both well suited for our roles in this game. My rules still apply for my lab but I do need your help, I am not to big to admit that even to you. So you help me and I let you play with my toys."She held out her hand for him. Her nails we're trim and painted in flat black instead of her usual coolest ion of rings she was wearing one large ring the encompassed her whole middle finger ending in a claw like point, He took her hand in his.  
"You said you need my help, you found something you can't make sense of and believe I will." she pulled a file from her bag as well as several files of blood.  
"I think you might" she corrected.  
"You knew I had a chemistry set up in my flat"  
"I figured you would"  
"Why?"  
"Because I do" She said with a wink, the gem at the corner of her eye sparkled with the movement. Sherlock smirked and followed her back to the kitchen. She set the blood on the table and released her hair from the band, bending over and ruffling her hair before pulling back into the messy bun. From behind her Sherlock couldn't help but scan her body once more.  
"What did I get wrong?"He asked  
"No fun in making this easy" She pulled a few slides to prepare for him to glance at while Sherlock looked over her recent findings in the files. Around them scraps he had dug up on the women on their personal life filled up the empty spaces. It was like this John found them the next morning.

Well then, that was meant to be a short filler chapter...then that happened. So a truce is made and Sherlock may yet come to realize Jack does have a few redeeming qualities.

Love it, hate, wish me dead (wow I just got a bit dark). Let me know.- Thieves.


	4. Chapter 4

Look at me chugging along, so many readers yet no reviews. So far it looks like I'm writing for one still. As always having fun with this. I'm terrible at making up crimes but I feel rather happy with this one so far.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sherlock or anything of the such but I am having a bit of fun borrowing them.

Preview: Sherlock and Jack hone in on the killer and I can't think of second thing to say about that.

"Two more bodies in the last week, you have to have something" John noticed Lestrade looked drained. The media were tearing him apart, even Sherlock and himself had not been spared. Now on the case Sherlock had been allowed the crime scenes and even after a few derogatory remarks in Anderson's detection Sherlock was still at a lose and this case was now pushing into a high 8 category. His frustration were wearing on everyone. He had become short even with John and had all but stopped responding to anything Jack had to say.  
"Same components in the stomach and blood as the last three. Body types and life styles are similar but still no defining ties between any of the five victims. I" Jack seemed reluctant,  
"I have nothing sir" She looked genuinely torn up. John had learned in the last few weeks that his new friend did not take failure well and this to her was more then failure. She wasn't letting down the families as much as she was letting down Lestrade, everyone had noticed they an almost father daughter relationship.  
"And that is exactly why you need me" her eyes narrowed at him. She had been suspicious the man had been holding back information from her so to throw it back in her face later. Though he had not lost control over her since their blow out and had held to their truce she had not doubt he still had misgivings towards her.  
"The murderer is not compulsive, first three victims then two. All stereo typically attractive. Symmetrical facial structure, thin waste, large breasts and ass, well cared for skin. But they all drank and partied. They all where publicly claimed to be loved but when you observe their friends hated them. I once wrote an essay on suppressed hatred in close proximity after observing John and his so called friends. When pressed they admitted they disliked how confident they were. Full of themselves, assured, bitc..."  
"Get on with it" Lestrade interrupted.  
"Four to five days before they dropped dead these women all went partying, never alone. Some left with partners some did not. None in committed relationships but all regularly sexually active so one night stands would not be considered out of character. The nights they ingested the toxins they were already heavily intoxicated. Our killer is targeting over confident attractive women either due to lack of social skills or past rejections he waits till they are less then coherent before giving them a cocktail that is overly sugared to hide the bitter taste. In their muddled minds it would go unnoticed and by the next morning forgotten. By the end of the week they are dead."  
"That's why they had a sugar spike in their blood work?" Jack asked, Sherlock nodded slightly to her.  
"But wouldn't that be out of the blood after a night? We wouldn't still see that almost a week later."  
"The Ostheomulgen while keeping the victims to queasy to eat also slows down digestion. Draws out the process longer to allow for more time before the toxins take full effect."  
" So we have killer targeting beautiful women and no way of knowing where he will strikes next?" Lestrade dragged a hand down his face. Just what he didn't want the press to get wind of.  
"You have no idea, your silly little brains can not process every factor and reach the result like mine can." Jack rolled her eyes the thick gold surrounding them sparkled.  
"So you do know where?"  
"There is a new club in central London, very high scale, exclusive. Only the most diligent of partiers would know its location and all our victims were rather diligent about this amongst other things. It's known as The Viper Room. Almost all the women in attendance meet this description and since it's so exclusive it's guest list rarely changes from night to night. They are open sporadically which would explain the times between kills.  
"So we send an officer in and search the place till we find them."  
"No, if you go in there you will lose them. I will get in, I know what I'm looking for and will be able to spot him before he can make a move."  
"You can't just go off on your own" John watched them with fascination, it was just like old times. At least now Lestarde had some form of warning before Sherlock galavanted off after the murders with John in tow.  
"You said the women met the criteria and that the roster doesn't vary much." Jack questioned. Sherlock seemed to pointedly ignore her questions now.  
"But you said you could get in unnoticed" there was mischievous glint to her eye and Sherlock seemed to shift a bit in his seat across from Lestrade.  
"Oh my god, you went clubbing" she barked out a laugh as Sherlock rolled his eyes.  
"It was for a case" he huffed. Though he deduced she more then likely couldn't hear him over the horrible noises she was making. Even Lestrade had cracked a weary smile at the image.  
"How did you convince them to let you in?"  
"I have been told I can be rather charming when it will serve my purposes" He looked at her with a smug expression. Since the night the week before they had worked together with considerably less tension once the guidelines for their truce had been set. Sherlock would tell no one, though he suspected John knew based on his looks, that she was not unpleasant to work around save for the music which still blasted at unreasonable levels. He had taken to ignoring her for the most part as if she was just another piece of lab equipment. He had not doubt if she knew this she would hurt him physically. Though he never told John she had managed to land a blow before he had intervened in their rather heated debate. He could now attest she had a rather mean right hook when he had taken it to the ribs.  
"Much like some others I can be a talented actor" She laughed earnestly.  
"And so humble at the Mister Holmes"  
"Sherlock" He corrected, she nodded.  
"We need to work out a plan" Lestrade forced Sherlock back into his chair as he went to leave.  
"I need this guy behind bars last week, so until we figure out something we can all agree on you stay here. Jack, Anderson needs you on the Braxter case." She grimaced at the thought as though she had just smelled something horrid but made no complaint as she left. Sherlock noticed she shifted her gold and black colored shirt to better cover her cleavage. He tried his best to ignore the slight flare of heat in his chest at the thoughts of what had caused the unconscious action.  
"If you already have an in then fine we will use it because god knows we need it but Sherlock someone on my team will go with you." He could practically see the gears turning in the silver haired DI's head.  
"No, not Donavon. She is to old and has been seen in numerous press releases involving this case. All of the others at your disposal are either to obvious or unattractive. I could always just take John" At that John stepped in.  
"Um no, that is the last thing I need getting out, I went clubbing with Sherlock Holmes. Couldn't you hire an actress?" Sherlock jumped up.  
"John that's perfect"  
"It is?"  
"Of course, she is well versed in the case, not a complete moron, she has above par acting skills and if we managed to crack off a few layers of the atrocious makeup she wouldn't be completely unattractive. With my guidance she could coax him out of hiding." Both other men sat in confused silence before John finally drew all the lines.  
"Jack? You want Jack to go undercover with you?"  
"Sherlock that's not exactly in her job description and she doesn't have the training for it."  
"How many more women do you want dead before I stop this man?" Sherlock exploded with action, his voice louder then it need be, his hands slammed down on the desk before he paced the room with manic energy.  
"If I can get her to agree to it?"Lestrade seemed pensive for a moment but his resolve finally broke.  
"If she agrees to everything 100 percent I will sigh off on it." He sighed.  
"I can only promise you 90 percent" Sherlock amended but he was already leaving the office before Lestrade could counter. When John made it outside Sherlock was no where in sight, typical he had more then likely found his own cab and left with out his doctor.  
Sherlock watched from behind a pillar as Jack leaned over a table, pictures from an on going robbery case spread out before her. Anderson hovered behind his eyes glued to her rear end as she swayed slightly deep in thought. She was wearing dark blue jeans and golden colored flat shoes. And he imagined at the moment she was wishing she had worn looser layers. Sherlock couldn't understand what he was doing. Caring was not an advantage and this girl, this women with her dirty black hair and her overly done makeup didn't deserve his care not like John. She was rude, arrogant, self centered, he was sure she was lying, but she was good at her work. He was unsure if when he had stated listing positive things about her in his internal rant. He scowled as he turned away.  
Mycroft would be pleased to have new ammunition against his brother though John always encouraged him to care for others particularly of the female variety. He suddenly needed to be far away from her, the lab could no longer be his escape as it once had. When he returned to the flat after John the old solider questioned his absence but he gave no response and John eventually dropped the subject to pursue a good nights sleep.  
*************************************************************************************************************

So, any takers yet. I want review because I think it would be awesome and I know who ever gives me one will be coolest person ever. Plus I do want some constructive criticism, I have no idea how this is hitting and want to know how to improve.

In other news, I thought this one would be longer? Love it, hate it, want to throw me into a pit of flames and dance around them. Let me know.- Thieves


	5. Chapter 5

I want this story to be seen and I'm a busy little bee putting out chapters. Go thieves go!

Disclaimer: I will never own Sherlock but a person can dream.

Preview: Big brother steps in with a meaty bone and Jack puts her foot down.

The next morning John was awoken earlier then he wanted for his day off by a screeching violin. Once in his dressing gown and down stairs he found Sherlock sulking in his chair huddled around his violin while Mycroft sat across from him poised as ever in John's chair. Mycroft looked smug, his ever present waist coat a bit looser in the middle and his umbrella leaning against the chair beside him. He was sitting back almost relaxed looking to how John normally saw him.  
"Morning John" he greeted pleasantly turning to face his brothers flat mate. He smiled flatly, a politicians smile.  
"I trust work has been good for you doctor." Sherlock groaned.  
"Please tell me your not going to start showing up for social visits Mycroft" John moved past them to make breakfast. While Sherlock battled it out with his brother. Both their stares intense as the met eyes. Once John was gone Mycroft resumed their private discussion.  
"You seem to be collecting a rather interesting group of friends brother"  
"I hardly see how that effects you unless you plan on showing up more often. The British government is taking far to much interest in my social interactions" Mycroft held up a brown folder, red tape sealed on all sides.  
"So you admit to having a social life little brother, Mummy would be delighted. " Sherlock scowled.  
"You have made a rather interesting new friend in particular." He offered the folder but the detective made no move to take it. Mycroft set it on the table before him. Amongst scrapes of paper left over from past cases and menial notes from experiments long past completed and catalogued away in his mind palace.  
"I still do not think you need to involve yourself Mycroft. She is not trying to over through the government. She holds no secrets that will aide you in anything, and she has no interest in being your, escort do you call them." It was Mycroft's turn to scowl.  
"I have already deduced all I need to know about her anyway."  
"Have you?" Mycroft gave a knowing smirk.  
"You plan to involve her even further in your cases"  
"She functions well as a lab assistant when I need her." Sherlock saw a flash of Jack's face before his eyes. When she was angry her skin flushed scarlet and her green eyes seemed to flash and dance like flames, her lips would press into a thin line as she bit the edge of her lip, sharp white teeth just showing as she molested the soft skin with her teeth. She would rage at him had she heard his statement on her usefulness to him.  
" Look over her file Sherlock" Mycroft stood and brushed himself off, gripping his umbrella he made to exit but was stopped by John. Sherlock only watched him leave his fingers had stilled against the instrument in his hands.  
"Not going to kidnap Jack like you did me then?"  
"I do not think that would do well for her psychological well being."  
"What?" Mycroft didn't answer, only locking eyes with his brother daring him to do as he said for a moment before pulling the door closed behind him.  
"What was that about then? He have a case for you?" John took up the seat Mycroft had just vacated. Sherlock brushed some papers over the file to hide it while John was distracted.  
"We already have a case" Sherlock held out his hand.  
"Your phone?" he demanded.  
"What's wrong with yours then?"  
"Jack does not have my number and she is more likely to respond positively to a text from you."  
"So it's Jack now?" John handed over his mobile with a smirk. He had been watching them, what ever happened that night while he slept had settled them both down. Though the still bickered John caught Sherlock watching her work almost fondly a few times thought Sherlock would deny it if ever brought up.

Come to 221b when you can. We could use some help and Sherlock is being unreasonable. Maybe something to do with that case? -JW

Her response came quickly.

Will be there in 10 Sherlock- J

Sherlock scowled at the phone despite getting what he had wanted. John only chuckled and went to put on the kettle for their guest. She had returned a few times since her first visit but more often then not she would offer to meet John with out the tall dark detective at a small vegetarian restaurant that served healthy home cooked meals. They had quickly cultivated a friendship. She reminded him so much of Sherlock though she had a much better grasp at human interaction That he found her easy to like and even easier to be around the his usual child like companion. They had recently begun the swap stories John offered anecdotal tales of living with Sherlock Holmes and she shared stories of growing up in the southern US.  
When she arrived and pulled off her leather jacket both men were surprised to find her outfit even more outrages then normal. Her top was a black corset with blood red piping and red laces. Lifting and exaggerating her ample breasts, her collar bones were well defined. A small amount of skin was visible just above her tight leather pants shoving the slight muscling of her abdomen and the sharp points of her hip bones. High heeled leather boots laced up to just below her knees making her several inches taller. Her plain nose stud was now a blood red gem. Her neck was bare but with out her usual sleeved shirt they could make out a lace of black designs inked into her left shoulder. Her eyes were shadowed in black and gold, her lips red and dark. Her hair was French braided in one thick plait a small portion of the left side of her head was shaved close to the scalp leaving only short, downy black hairs to cover the skin, a new addition to her overall appearance. They both stared open mouthed for a moment.  
"You rang?" She arched a well sculpted black brow at them. She looked ready for a night out but for 8 in the morning it seemed a bit much. It was far more risqué then her normal work attire which itself was so far below professional Sherlock often wondered how she had yet to be reprimanded for it, Sherlock expected that had just as much to do with her bond with Lestrade as it did her skills.  
"I have a proposition for you." She looked between the two of them taking a few more steps into their flat almost cautiously.  
"Wow Sherlock when you put it like that you must get all the girls panties to drop." He looked confused for a moment but shook his head to clear away his questions, John chuckled.  
"You heard what was said about this case. We need a women who can be made to look beautiful and fits the physical requirements, who will be able to act self assured and who has a knowledge of the case. Lestrade will not let me work alone. He has demands I have someone from his team work with me and as such you are the only person I would consider tolerable enough."  
"I think there was your version of a compliment in there" her voice was tight.  
"This plan hinges on your consent, apparently it was nonnegotiable"  
"You want me to be bait"  
"I want you to agree to assist me in catching a serial murderer who is taking the lives of innocent women in their prime. Women like you who are only just finding themselves, who's lives are just starting." His eyes shone as he leaned forward, he took her hands in his own. There was a light jingling sound as the cuffs on her wrist moved together. He opened his eyes wider to appear more innocent.  
"Sorry, I'm still stuck on the fact you want me to be bait for a serial killer." Sherlock released a sigh and threw himself back into his chair.  
"Will you help me or not Miss Macotii?"  
"I thought it was Jack now" John teased, both parties gave him a hard look. There was a a definite tension in their silence. While this exchange had started out light hearted despite its content she seemed a bit on edge with it all. John had never seen her uncomfortable like this.  
"Tea or coffee?" John asked politely to excuse himself and give them the room.  
"Tea, thank you John" Jack settled into her seat, letting his teasing slide.  
"Black, two sugars" Sherlock muttered as John left. They sat in silence, watching each other carefully until John returned. Jack took her tea and rested it against her knee letting the heat seep back into her chilled fingers.  
"What would this operation include?" Jack asked carefully as she took a sip. Her green eyes framed in dark tones locked with his. Sherlock noted her tone, the smallest tremble, he began to wonder if this was her fear showing or if it could be something else while something's seemed so obvious with her most seemed muddled or contradictory to what he knew.  
"The Viper Room will not be active again until next Saturday. I have already received word of the time and date. You will be dressed appropriately for the venue so some changes will have to be made to your wardrobe and your personal grooming techniques will have to be altered for the night. Your physique is already par for the victims so you will accompany me there as my supposed date so that you will be allowed in with out question. Once there you will dance with as many men and as provocatively as possible, you will need eyes to be drawn to you. While this is happening I will be scanning the crowd. I will be able to spot our killer once there. If necessary we can work to have him interact with you until Lestrade is satisfied and can move in and make his arrest. Case solved."  
"Why would I need to get myself noticed?"  
"This man is targeting confident, out going women who have regular sexual encounters with out commitment. He is looking for someone everyone desires and amongst this crowd only the loudest and boldest would be noticed and therefore make themselves targets to him. It will make him easier to spot."  
"Wouldn't that make it more obvious. If everyone is watching me, me leavening would be noticed."  
"Does that empty space between your ears not function to comprehend what I'm saying. He is not trying to bed them he is killing them, they make their intentions to fuck the general population with no restraint or regrets loud and clear but he is not bedding them he is killing them. Everything he is doing would seem normal to anyone but myself which is why I must observe him interacting." She narrowed her eyes at his insults.  
"Is that safe Sherlock? You still seemed unsure of how this man is slipping the drug to the victims" John asked in concern. Sherlock ignored him, instead watching the changes in Jack. She had set her tea on the table, her fists were balled in her lap knuckles white. Her back was strait and ridged, her face was blank and her eyes had taken on a glassy quality. It seemed an unusual reaction to insults from him which even from the beginning she had easily brushed off.  
"You want me to go to a club with you where a man has been killing girls because you can dress me up and I have big tits and a nice ass just like the other women this man has killed. Then you want me to dance around like a slag till the murderer tries to kill me and you can swoop in with your coat flaps and your popped collar and, case solved." Her voice was monotone.  
"You are taking this as an insult when there is none." Sherlock answered aloof.  
"No"  
"What?" Sherlock looked to her surprised. He had expected her to be difficult but she was invested in this case. She often went with out food and sleep to work to catch the killer but she was unwilling to go out for one night of undercover work to close it.  
"No" she answered again John looked to Sherlock, his brow creased with his confusion as well.  
"You are willing to let more people die because you don't want to dress up to catch a killer while you walk around in distracting clothing that causes Anderson to give you unwanted attention to the point he has even laid a hand on you physically though you have not told Lestrade" John gasped but Sherlock didn't stop. She lightly tugged at the top of her corset.  
"Your outfit even today was meant to draw attention sexually mostly in the form of your overly exposed breasts and the attention the bare skin draws to your pelvic region so what reason should you care if I am asking you to allow me to use your body to have many men covet you to catch one of them who happens to be a serial murder taking women's lives. Michel Daver, Kelly Noles, Sandra McNeal, Ashely Quin, Patrice Kasey, these women are dead because of him " his voice had risen to a roar by the end of his rant. She squeezed her eyes shut, her face was tense, the red of her lips seemed darker as she pressed them together in a thin line to stop their slight quivering. Sherlock for the first time felt the unfamiliar curdling of quilt at the sight, he had not felt this since his return to John when he was forced to face the pain he had caused his closest friend. He wondered if he had gone to far. She sat like this for several moments, her breathing shallow, while the two men watched her. When she opened her eyes again they were no longer glassy but drained of emotion all together. She stood with calculated slowness and collected the small black bag she had brought with her that often carried components from the case for her and Sherlock to collaborate on. When she reached the door she finally responded to their questioning stares though she faced away from them her hand resting lightly on the door knob.  
"Fine, I will be your bait." Her voice was husky, she swallowed audibly to clear the frog in her throat.  
"Meet us here at 8 Saturday night to prepare for the evening. I will provide your outfit for the"  
"I can dress my self Mister Holmes" She growled, her voice deep and low.  
"Then make it 9, Lestrade will require some time to properly brief you as well as set you up with surveillance equipment he has deemed necessary we will leave at 10"  
"Will John be coming?" John opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted once more.  
"He will be with Lestrade watching from a few blocks away, couldn't do this with out my blogger." He smirked at his own clever remark. Jack pulled back on her leather jacket and stopped only briefly to cough into her elbow.  
"Do try to stay healthy, I would hate to miss out on catching a killer because you caught the common cold."  
"Piss off" With that she slammed their door shut and raced down the stairs her boots slamming loudly on the wooden stairs till they heard the door below slam as well.  
"Did Anderson really touch her?"John asked.  
"I deduced so last week. I have seen him giving her unwanted attention for some time. She leans away from him when he moves anywhere around her, her shoulders become hunched and she self consciously pulls at the top of her shirt when ever he is mentioned but only recently has she begun to wear looser fitting clothing to work, clothing that show signs of only recently being purchased. Though it is not a trend she continues on his days off, in fact she appears to compensate for the days she is being somewhat modest by dressing even more vulgar"  
" How did you know she hadn't told Greg?" Sherlock only rose a brow challenging John to find the answers himself.  
"Because she is Jack" Sherlock inclined his head slightly in confirmation.  
"I honestly never know if you two are going to kill each other or be best of friends"Sherlock only shrugged still not using verbal communication and watched out the window as she flagged down a taxi. His eyes drifted to her untouched tea, sitting just beyond it beneath papers sat the file Mycroft had brought over. He brushed the papers aside and collected the file. Once in his room he closed the door and eyed the seals. Jack was nothing more then a mystery for him to solve. She may hide a few truths under her bizarre outfit choices and outrageous makeup but she was a puzzle for his brain to unravel and the file was nothing more then a cheat sheet but this late in the game he had no interest in cheating, he would see his victory in the end. He slipped the file beneath his sock index and pushed the drawer shut. His decision made he returned to his frozen thumbs he had been preparing for experiments before Mycroft had interrupted.

Well there we have it. Why does this scenario piss Jack off? Why does Sherlock not go for the instant gratification of just reading her file, what does Mycroft know? So we are coming up in few chapters on the one plot point that sort of inspired this whole tale. And You get to know Jack a bit more. Has she seemed a bit absent so far. I am trying to incorporate her slowly into their lives. I always think it's silly when people intro a character and three days later they are practically living with the boys of 221b. Ok so review and such and be the awesome people you are. Also smug Mycroft is smug. - Thieves

ps. I just finished chapter 6 and hot damn I can't wait to show you!


	6. Chapter 6

Ok, seriously please please please someone review, hell, tell me you hate it but dude I need to know if people are out there. I feel like I'm yelling at a wall or an empty hallway. In other news here I am moving forward. This chapter may have a little bit of sexy in it but hopefully I won't go to far. Next chapter will be the scene that sorta started it all for this story even though this one will explain the title but still no word on Jack's real name. Any guesses?

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything, not that I am expecting that into change any time soon.

Preview: In which Jack goes for broke and Sherlock is in for a shock.

Jack pulled herself out of the shower. The warm water had been a welcome comfort to her nerves. She had tried to sleep as late as possible but at six that morning she had still found herself in her lab running experiments on an appendix Molly had saved for her. When Lestrade had heard he had threatened her with paid leave if she didn't rest up some before their operation that night. She had left before he could make good on his threats.  
When the clock finally rounded 6 she pulled herself off her personal microscope surrounded by slides with varying slices of a human eye and decided to bathe. Once she had scrubbed herself with her favorite vanilla spice wash and washed out her hair with some of her better hair products. She pulled a comb through her dark locks then wrapped a fluffy black towel around her body. She left the bathroom door open to allow the steam to escape, the mirrors to defog. Jack pulled out the dress she had chosen earlier in the day. Her battle dress. She smoothed the dampness from her skin with her towel before wrapping her hair into it and situating the whole mess on the top of her head.  
She selected a song, Bulletproof seemed a good song for the moment she rolled her neck till the bones audibly popped and walked confidently through her flat, her bare feet padding softly on her hard wood floors. She pulled her phone from the satchel that hung from the wall, no new messages save for the ones she had ignored from Lestrade, him begging her to not forget to eat and relax. Neither of which she had ever gotten around to doing. Sherlock had been uncommonly quite for the day more then likely still wary of her. She sighed as she marched back to her room. She had been disappointed in herself, she had honestly believed she had better control on her emotions but last night had cracked her resolve a bit.  
The fog had cleared so she got to work on her hair releasing it from the towel and separating it out with her hands. She rubbed some oil into her palms before running her fingers though the black locks that fell past her shoulders and tickled her shoulder blades. She didn't often wear it down because it's length got in her way but she couldn't bring herself to change it, one of the few changes she had not made when she made the big move away from her home and family. It was nice to have a few things be familiar. She smiled at the reflection but she still looked tired and worn out to herself. She swept on make up, keeping it light then slipping into her gown and heels. She pulled out an older coat, this one longer and thicker then her favorite leather jacket. She gave her flat on last sweep, she didn't have any reasons left not to leave other then her own reservations over the evening. She could show no weakness tonight so she locked away her misgivings, slipped in her ear buds and left for the first stop for her night out.

Sherlock sat in his chair his hands steepled beneath his chin. Jack was set to arrive at in an hour but she had the habit of arriving early. For someone as distractible as himself she was positively punctual. John had worked for most of the day but he to now sat in his respective chair waiting for their girl to arrive. Sherlock hadn't contacted her for the day, John had confiscated his phone early in the day saying she needed her space if they wanted tonight to work, they needed her to not already be worked up with them. Sherlock had been less then pleased the day had been duller then most with out the distraction of working along side his lab companion. DI Lestrade knocked at their door to be brought up by Mrs. Hudson.  
"Jack not here yet then?" John looked at the clock on the wall, fifteen to 9 she wasn't late but she was not as early as they had grown accustom to. For more then once John considered the possibility she wouldn't show at all. She had seemed more then a bit upset with the situation but she had given her word. He shook the thoughts away and smiled as returned with a tray of tea for the men. Lestrade set down a box no doubt containing the equipment for the night.  
"You heard from her today John?" John shook his head returning to his seat.  
"Kicked her out of that bloody lab this morning. Poor girl needs a good break once this whole mess is over."  
"She should take better care of herself" John agreed. Sherlock's head shot up and both men looked to the door as well. Jack bustled in through the door at five to 9. A black coat covering her to her knees.  
"Sorry, thought I would get here sooner then that" Her voice was un necessarily loud before she popped out her ear buds and winced.  
"I was a bit loud there sorry" she smiled apologetically as John offered to help her from her coat. Sherlock was impressed, he saw no signs of the emotional child that had fled the previous night. Returned was the strong women who he so enjoined butting heads with.  
"You didn't want to come so you left your flat with just enough time to make it here meaning you held out at least thirty minutes before deciding to stay to your word." Sherlock's words were analytical. Neither accusatory or happy sounding.  
"I don't want to do this but you had a point Beanpole I want this case done and no one else needs to die" Sherlock bowed his head accepting her words. By now she was out of her coat and Sherlock heard the collective gasp out the other two men in the room. He unlocked his gaze from hers and allowed his eyes to drift down her body. Her dress was form fitting and strapless. The sweetheart neckline showed the gentle slope of her breasts, a simple golden chain held a caged black pearl nestled in the hollow of the throat. Her arms were bare which was unreasonable for the season but would lend itself when the club heated up with so many bodies in such a small space. With her shoulders bare he could once more examine her tattoo, a weaving of black loops and swirls he was lost in it for a moment before returning to his movement down her body. Her waist was thin and the clingy silken material looked painted onto her skin down to her upper thighs where it abruptly ended and her bare legs began. Despite her height they looked longer when not wrapped in black like they had always seen her in. Her skin was lightly tanned due to her heritage and had a soft shimmer to it when she took a few steps forward. Her heels helped their appeal causing the muscles to flex beneath her smooth skin. They were impossibly tall and thin looking as she balanced on them and moved with grace towards the tall man. He stood slowly, with her new height her eyes were now level with his Cupid bow lips. His eyes moved back to her face and he felt he was meeting a whole new person. This women was more subtle and sensuous. Her eyes were lightly shadowed in black a sweep of gold eye liner and mascara added to it, the emerald of her eyes matched her dress perfectly and her lips seemed softer in the brighter shade of red she had chosen instead of the darkness she usually shrouded herself in. From each ear most of the jewelry had been removed and matching black pearls adorned each lobe. A golden shimmer came from her skin as black tresses spilled over her right shoulder dropping down to her elbow. Her hair was in soft, natural waves and glossy in the light.  
"My god Jack" Lestrade was the only one who could get words out. John's gaze was fixed on her ample posterior.  
"Good enough Mister Holmes?" She was testing him he was sure. She looked rich and exotic, she was alluring to see and he suddenly wondered what she would feel like, all purely scientific he assured himself. She would defiantly grab attention.  
"Its sufficient"  
"Jack you look amazing"John had finally broken his gaze but everyone still seemed to distracted to remember their purpose.  
"Could I get something to drink"  
"Yea, coffee, we may have some milk if Sherlock hasn't gotten to it" John offered.  
"I was thinking a bit stronger, a beer maybe?" John went to retrieve one for her.  
"You will not be able to function to a high enough degree if you insist in consuming alcohol" Sherlock warned.  
"I will not be able to do this at all if I don't at least have a buzz going so shut up and deal with it mop top. You need me."  
"I don't need you" he hissed  
"You were a requirement given any other opinion I would have never involved you"  
"oh really, on a case I was working before you could have a crack at it."  
"No on a case you where attempting to solve and doing an abysmal job of until. I stepped in to solve it for you" Jack felt her blood pressure rise as she balled her fists.  
"Enough" Lestrade ordered, John returned with her beer which she took a deep pull from, Sherlock rolled his eyes at her show. Lestrade retrieved his equipment when Sherlock swept for the room to pull on the final parts to his outfit. His usual black slacks and a deep purple shirt under a crisp tight fitting black blazer, not far from his normal attire.  
"So slip this into your ear, we should be able to hear everything you are saying and if all goes to plan you should hear us loud and clear. Jack pushed her hair back to push it into her right ear before dropping her hair back down to easily cover it. Lestrade dropped Sherlock's into his palm.  
"You may want to put yours in once in the club. John, Donavon, and myself will be a block away so that our receivers will work on the com device but several teams will be near by for when you give the word. Sherlock be sure before I send my team in, we may only have one chance."  
"I will be sure" Sherlock seemed confident as he pushed the device into his pocket. Jack grimaced, Donavon had been one of the earliest to dismiss her, she had no doubt the women had her back but Jack was always reluctant with her.  
"We should go" Jack spoke up when they fell into an uncomfortable silence, swallowed the last of her drink and retrieved her coat. John offered his arm to lead her outside.  
"Sherlock will make sure nothing happens to you" John tried to reassure her. Away from Sherlock and Lestrade her mask of indifference seemed to slip a bit.  
"And who is going to stop me from knocking out our consulting detective before this night is out?" She tired to make light of the situation.  
"Just try really hard" John laughed.  
"That work for you?"  
"Sometimes"they both laughed as they exited onto the side walk. Upstairs Lestrade had caught the lanky dark haired man by the elbow.  
"You protect her tonight Sherlock"  
"You see her as one of your children, when she arrived you felt she was like a lost puppy. Now you seem uncertain of this especially after seeing us interact. Despite needing this case to be closed you are considering calling it all off for her safety. I wouldn't suggest it, Miss Macotii is more then capable of taking care of herself should the occasion arise despite her appearance, and I can personally attest to her right hook." Sherlock watched his friend, he was tired, very tired but willing to continue if only to make Jack more comfortable.  
"Promise me Sherlock"  
"I don't make promises" Sherlock pulled on his Belstaf and scarf.  
"Sherlock" Lestrade warned blocking his exit.  
"I will do all I can to ensure Miss Macotii's safety" that seemed to be enough for the detective as he let Sherlock pass and followed behind him. Lestarde climbed into his own vehicle, John joining him as they pulled away Sherlock hailed a cab for Jack and himself.  
Once they both bundled into the taxi and Sherlock gave the address they settled in for their hour long drive. The location was on the other side of town and with the night life swing traffic was inevitable.  
"You do look the part" Sherlock tired to offer conversation as he watched the passing lights dance across her face.  
"You don't have to do that" Sherlock gave her a quizzical look when she turned to face him. He gaze was blank again, devoid of the usual smug, light hearted light the tug of her lips and sparkle in her eyes gave off.  
"Do what"  
"Be nice to me when no one else is around. I won't tell." He watched her almost wary of what she was suggesting.  
"We both know what ever this is" she motioned between the two of them.  
"Is nothing more then a business agreement. We will no doubt be placed on cases together so we will agree now to be civil to our best intent and get through this. You don't want friends fine, I prefer to operate with out the distraction of them anyway."  
"Sounds lonely" Sherlock mocked.  
"Being alone protects me" Sherlock's mouth dropped open but she had already dismissed him to gaze back out the window. He felt for the first time he had just witnessed the real person. The lonely girl across from him was the same girl who had stormed out the night before but she was not Jack, her real name locked away behind secrets and his sock index. He suddenly regretted not looking, not breaking the seals, she had the upper hand in this relationship and it made him enormously uncomfortable.  
"I have been reliably informed I don't have friends, just the one." She didn't acknowledge him so he stopped all attempts. When they arrived Sherlock slipped in the ear device much to his annoyance and exited first helping her from the cab like a gentleman, her mask was back in full force her eyes danced with intrigue and her hips swayed alluringly as they walked together to the front of the line, by passing people waiting their turn as if they were better then the general public, her chin was held high and proud and a sneer seemed to linger. At the door they dropped their coats and joined the already buzzing fray of people within The Viper Room. Jack grew a bit more comfortable in the pumping music and swaying masses. They broke apart at the door, she needed to appear open to all invitations. Sherlock found an up stairs balcony that hung over the dance floor, he clutched a drink and gave off an air of indifference in attempt to hold off any brave enough to attempt an approach. When he found her again she was at the bar on the ground level pulling down another alcoholic beverage, she seemed determined to undermine him tonight. He fingers brushed the device at his ear when Lestrade gave out a test.  
"Can you both hear me?"  
"It would be best if you didn't find yourself inebriated tonight, you no doubt neglected to eat this evening as well as last and at your size you should have a realativly low tolerance"  
"Piss off kill joy"  
"I will take that to mean their working, any signs yet Sherlock"  
"Thanks to Miss Macotii I have only been allowed to observe what will surly be an upcoming hangover"  
"Why can't you just watch how the men are reacting to the other girls in this place?" Sherlock shook his head at the suggestion.  
"To much stimulus. I have no way of quickly reading who are coupled, who is showing guilt because they are cheating, or jealous with out reason in such a crowded place. It's much more convenient to simple watch those watching you. Your going to need to dance" there was a rush of static over the line as she sighed.  
"I had not considered this problem"  
"What problem Sherlock" he had almost forgotten Lestrade was listening in, he seemed panicked.  
"That Miss Macotii would be incapable of dancing, stupid" He went to smack himself such a simple mistake to make but she was suddenly on the move. Jack jumped away from the bar but quickly measure her steps back to approach a man several meters away. Wether she had known or not the man with short cropped dark hair and a thick muscled upper torso had been watching her since she had walked in as far as Sherlock could deduce from the distance he appeared unattached. His eyes stayed on her chest till she reached out and ran her finger languidly down his arm when her fingers crossed from the fabric on his shoulder to the exposed skin of his arm his eyes snapped to her and he grinned like the Cheshire Cat. She laced her fingers in his and turned to pull him onto the floor giving him a good view of her ass which he took full advantage of. When she was deep within the crowd she turned back to him and released his hand to stroke his face, the sway of her body became more dramatic, moving in time with the beat but the song was coming to an end so she waited for the next to put on the real show.  
The next song would do perfectly. Instead of the thick beats and whirs of dub step this song was sensuous. Her eyes sparked in recognition and her smile looked genuine.  
"I love this song" they heard her confess to her partner. Her voice was deeper then normal and the small chuckle she gave seemed darker.

I knew you were  
You were gonna come to me  
And here you are  
But you better choose carefully  
'Cause I, I'm capable of anything  
Of anything and everything

The mans hands grabbed her hips and pulled her closer as they began to move together. His hands seemed low to Sherlock and his thumbs pressed into the hollows below her hips but he kept that obseravation quite. He wanted to scan the crowd but he needed to watch, to see this as it happened.

Make me your Aphrodite  
Make me your one and only  
Don't make me your enemy, your enemy, your enemy

She pulled back from him slightly and spun herself around in his arms allowing her rear to rest in his hips as she moved languidly between his legs. Sherlock felt his brows rise he may have spoken to soon on her ability to dance. He swept his eyes across the crowd several more men and a few women were watching the pair.

So you wanna play with magic  
Boy, you should know what you're falling for  
Baby do you dare to do this  
Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse  
Are you ready for, ready for  
A perfect storm, perfect storm  
Cause once you're mine, once you're mine  
There's no going back

Jack ran her hands down her body while he continued to clutch her hips his hands pale against the silken green material the clung to the areas his hands drifted. Sherlock noticed a few more watchers, one in particular was palming himself through his pants in a corner. Not the man he was looking for but something to keep an eye on. The women watching ranged from jealousy to lust.  
"What happening" Lestrade asked.  
"She is doing well catching attention the way we planned." He caught the caught the ghost of a smile on Jack's face.

Mark my words  
This love will make you levitate  
Like a bird  
Like a bird without a cage  
But down to earth  
If you choose to walk away, don't walk away

Jack decided to amp it up, bringing her hands back to run down the outer edges of her partners thighs. She could already feel him bulging against her but with the encouragement of her hands he bucked unconsciously into her.  
"Don't go to far, we want others to have a chance at you" Sherlock warned.

It's in the palm of your hand now baby  
It's a yes or no, no maybe  
So just be sure before you give it up to me  
Up to me, give it up to me

Sherlock found when his eyes were not locked on Jack and her partner he was watching three men in particular. Two seemed suspicious, they had not come with partners for the evening but they hung back at the fringes of the mass of body's wringing together. Only changing locations to keep their eyes locked on Jack's performance.

So you wanna play with magic  
Boy, you should know what you're falling for  
Baby do you dare to do this  
Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse  
Are you ready for, ready for  
A perfect storm, perfect storm  
Cause once you're mine, once you're mine  
There's no going back

Sherlock noticed that most of the people of the Viper Room were watching the performance. Not all were as diligent to but even as eyes moved they always returned to the couple. She was doing better then he had expected sooner then he had anticipated. By her consumption rate Sherlock had deduced she would need to be tipsy before she would loosen up enough but her head was still for the most part clear and she was demanding the attention of several dozen people.

She's a beast  
I call her Karma (come back)  
She eats your heart out  
Like Jeffrey Dahmer  
Be careful  
Try not to lead her on  
Shawty's heart was on steroids  
Cause her love was so strong  
You may fall in love  
When you meet her  
If you get the chance you better keep her  
She's sweet as pie but if you break her heart  
She'll turn cold as a freezer  
That fairy tale ending with a knight in shining armor  
She can be my Sleeping Beauty  
I'm gon' put her in a coma  
Woo!  
Damn I think I love her  
Shawty so bad  
I'm sprung and I don't care  
She got me like a roller coaster  
Turn the bedroom into a fair  
Her love is like a drug  
I was tryna hit it and quit it  
But lil' mama so dope  
I messed around and got addicted

With the slight change in pace she changed her body movements a bit, her shoulder blades moved against his chest which felt hard pressed against her. She repeated her mantra in her head as she fought back a slight feeling of revulsion, this is nothing but an act, she told herself over and over. None of her inner turmoil playing in her features.  
"I need to hear something Sherlock" Lestrade interrupted his thoughts again.  
"You want absolute certainty that will take more time. I have two possibilities and unless you intend to arrest them both on my suspicions alone give me time." Sherlock rushed out in a growl ignoring the women near him batting her eyes. His strange outburst causing her to move away.  
"I need to be closer" Sherlock amended quieter.  
"John wants to know why you can't be" Lestrade relayed.  
"If I move in I will lose prospective over the whole group." Sherlock suddenly lost his train of thought as one of the women who had been giving the withering pair lustful looks began to approach.

So you wanna play with magic  
Boy, you should know what you're falling for (you should know)  
Baby do you dare to do this  
Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse (like a dark horse)  
Are you ready for, ready for (ready for)  
A perfect storm, perfect storm (a perfect storm)  
Cause once you're mine, once you're mine (mine)  
There's no going back

She walked with purpose, her blonde hair and red lips seemed false under the lights but her low cut halter black dress seemed on par with the other women around them. She placed her hands lower on Jack's hips, her fingers brushing back to feel her ass while she still ground into her male partners groin. She pulled up closer when Jack gave her a mischievous smile nestling herself between Jack's open legs and joining their rhythm. Jack's chosen partner looked taken aback by his luck and dug in deeper with each swivel of his hips bucking Jack into her new partner. The heat in the room seemed to skyrocket as other began to react to the show as well. Even as the song ended and wove into the next the trio inspired others to make their moves as well. The women pressed her entire body against Jack's her lips finding the delicate pulse point and she kissed and licked with heat. A new man managed to force himself into the position behind Jack but she made no indication of caring As he pressed his lips to her exposed shoulder opposite the women, Jack moaned at the contact. Lestrade flushed deep red at the sound, even Sherlock swallowed thickly, he hated in moments like this she he was re,index he was in fact a man. The two men Sherlock had marked to watch still held back.  
"Don't lose them" He commanded as he did his best to decipher their movements.  
"I do love being watched" Jack purred for him.  
"Its one of these men but they are reluctant to fight for your attention. One is in the maroon blazer and dark hair, nervous tic. Second is near him. Brown shirt, tan pants, over all guilty appearance head hung, shoulders hunched."  
"What do you want from me?" She asked in a husky whisper into the ear of the women between her legs to hide her conversation with the consulting detective watching from above.  
"Go to the bar, drink, I know your thinking but Sherlock you told me to hold back, but this man is going for women who have had a few to many and we need you to start looking the part instead if this sex addicted creature you have created for your self. Go for the man in brown. Dressed like that he would have had to of been a long standing attendee to get in tonight, more likely to have known all the victims." When the song began to move into the next Jack pried herself from the group to be replace by another young brunette who had been eyeing the spot, to make her way back to the bar. When the bartender didn't come to her right away she slammed on the counter a few times to demand attention. The women running the drink stand looked furious at Jack's approach but Jack gave her a haughty look and ordered three shots of anything strong. She needed to keep the look of an over confident women who felt superior and needed to be desired just as the victims had. The women behind the bar slammed the shot glasses down in front of here, the liquid was clear and as she threw back each shot the burn intensified. She gave it a few moments to settle then moved again.  
With some help from above found her target, she added a slight wobble to her step to add to the ruse and stumbled into him. He caught her easily.  
"Careful Jack" Lestrade warned as he heard her move into position to engage their suspect. Beside him John rung his hands.  
"Watch where you walk sexy" she teased as she pressed herself into him swiveling a bit with the music, flush against his body. Sherlock moved quickly to be near them and watch closer at their interaction but he was impeded by other club goers. It was nearing 2 am and the party was at its fullest. It was the best time if he intended to attack because with all the movement a single women, even the highlight of the night could go unnoticed.  
"Dance with me?" He asked. Jack swallowed thickly at the request but covered it with a giggle.  
"Get me drunk and I just might" he laughed several men in the area looked ready to take her up on her offer so,he ushered her back to the bar quickly. Sherlock had found himself a spot a few paces down them. He ordered them several drinks, each time Sherlock watched but he made no move to alter her drink. Lestrade wouldn't move in with out prof.  
"Get him talking, see if he was here to other nights when are victims would have been here" Lestrade suggested. The response was a hiccup and another giggle.  
"I believe she is to far inebriated" Sherlock answered for her, under his watchful gaze her new man seemed to realize it as well and just as Sherlock had been waiting for his hand brushed over her glass as she gazed off into the crowd and Sherlock could make out a slight change in the level of contents in her glass.  
"Got him, Lestrade outside quickly" Sherlock jumped to action. Clamping his hand over the drink and slamming it back to the counter with a sharp clack of glass so that Jack could not raise it to her lips he produced a set of cuffs and had their mans arms cuffed behind his back before he could react to the intrusion.  
"Do not resist me" he growled into his ear as he shoved the man towards the exit, he swiped the drink as well partially because he was unsure if it would be safe to leave it with Jack but mainly for testing. As they left the women behind the bar returned.  
"Your friends left" she seemed miffed that Jack had remained.  
"Not my friends, don't have friends" Jack mumbled, listening in on Lestrade's head set John frowned.  
"Wheres Jack?" He asked as he climbed out of their surveillance van to see an officer pushing their murderer into the back of a squad car. Lestarde glanced around then gave Sherlock a meaningful glance. The detective sighed as he dove into the fray to retrieve the girl at the bar where a new man was working to pick her up.  
"Oh it's you" she slurred when he caught her elbow, shouldering some of her weight and all but hauled her out. Once outside John bundled her into his coat which he stripped off when he discovered her own was still inside.  
"Someone needs to get her home" He commented as she seemed mesmerized but the pockets of her loaned jacket.  
"I will" Donavon offered, Lestrade tossed her a set of keys.  
"Jack left them with me just in case" he smiled as she was ushered off.  
" I need the lab" Sherlock went to move away but John followed behind him.  
"What for?" He asked his friend as the pulled into a cab. Sherlock rose the glass to his face, he had covered it to seal in the offending liquid.  
"That's it then?" Sherlock said nothing.

Well then, that was a bit of fun, hope you liked my sexy part, just a taste for now. So any guesses on Jack, her name, what's going on with her. Sherlock has new things to play with and Jack may be in for an unpleasant morning. The next chapter will be the scene that started the story even this one was the title. Dark Horse by Katty Perry, listen while you read, hm, should have said that earlier I guess, oh well. Read, review, and be Merry. - Thieves.

Ps. To my follower, you are awesome and will some day rule the world with your awesomeness.


	7. Chapter 7

Well, ok then. Big chapter for me because I am in love with how this scene plays out in my head but getting it out mat be a bit difficult to suss out. I hope you like this. I...Am trying to find more to say do I won't have to work on the hard part yet but I should so ta ta for now.

Disclaimer: I have never owned Sherlock and I know I won't but I did have this weird dream once, if it wasn't for Mycroft with rabbit ears it would have been very believable...

Preview: Jack reaches limits and gets in trouble for it and Sherlock feels fear.

Sherlock waited as his finger tips drummed into the table top. The test results required time and he felt like it had already been to long. He had spent some time locked away in his mind palace trying to delete the images of Jack in such a carnal state as she had been withering amongst the crowds in her tight fitting green dress. He shook out his hair leaving it standing on end as he looked for anything else to occupy his mind. John had texted him several times requesting he return to 221b to rest, even loping Lestrade into helping but to no avail. Sherlock stayed in Jack's lab till sun up. Molly brought him coffee when she found him there.  
John finally gave in and returned to the lab as well where he had dropped Sherlock off in the early morning hours. He was happy to find Jack had not shown up at the very least one of the workaholics would be getting their doctor recommended rest  
"You should rest" John didn't even try bringing food with him.  
"We already know for the most part what's in that unless you think he changed it all last night then you can wait. You will get your answers, we have him and you have all the time in the world." John stepped closer to his friend. His attention only faltered when Molly slipped into the lab. She seemed surprised to see them both but said nothing.  
"Something was off, I can't place it" Sherlock huffed. Nothing was moving fast enough, he needed information and if he returned to the flat he knew he wouldn't have the strength to not tear into Jack's file.  
"I, I could help" Molly offered  
"I mean, I will be around here anyway so I could call you when the samples are done."  
"Lestrade wanted to talk to you anyway" Sherlock huffed again, eyeing the machines as they worked through the chemicals.  
"Fine, you text me immediately" He demanded as he pulled on his coat and left with a triumphant John on his heels. He had been hoping to observe their suspect more closely and this could be an opportunity to.

Inside the lab Molly pulled out a small key, unlocking a personal drawer under the desk far in the corner she found a computer, thin and compact she quickly booted it up and set it down beside a microscope. After a few minutes an image flicked to life. Jack sat on the other side of the screen bundled in deep red and gold embroidered comforter on her had and a messy bun of hair visible. She looked pale if not even a bit green, her eyes lidded. Her face devoid of any makeup at all made her appearance more gaunt, the bags be ether her eyes black and heavy.  
"Thanks Molly, I can't leave the flat today but I am not leavening this to Tall Dark And Irritating." She mumbled.  
"I can walk you through the tests that I want to run and you can read me the results."  
"Sherlock already started some"  
"Then when they are done read me those too" Jack interrupted.  
"Are you sure Jack, maybe if you rested a bit" she dark haired girl looked at the pathologist.  
"This is me resting Molly" she indicated the giant blanket she had surrounded herself with. Molly reluctantly agreed pulling out supplies as Jack listed them off.

"He keeps saying he doesn't know anything" Lestrade sighed.  
"He is obliviously lying then" John was getting annoyed. Sherlock had still refused to talk to either of them since he had grudgingly agreed to leave the lab. His phone had yet to leave his hand.  
"Until we confirm it with those tests or he confesses all we have is he put something in a girls drink and gave off some vibes that only Sherlock Holmes can read. I can't tell the public about this until we have solid proof" Lestrade sighed run a hand down his face. The other two men in his office said nothing.  
"Should I cal in Jack?" With that Sherlock's head shoot up pinning the silver haired detective under his scrutinizing gaze.  
"Miss Macotii was under high amounts of stress coupled with an unreasonable amount of alcohol paired with low levels of nutrition and sleep deprivation, she will require rest, and time to recuperate. Along those lines she has also been fighting off a cold for a few day meaning it is nearing a point in her illness where she will be feeling most symptoms of this starting today. An unfortunate morning for her I am sure. Anything you would have needed her for I am more then capable of dealing with but you insisted on dragging me off to talk about it." Sherlock had stood at some point during his speech, moving forward towards the man behind the desk.  
"If there is nothing else I would be more productive behind a micro scope then in front of your desk" Sherlock stormed out. John gave Greg an apologetic smile, he was disappointed he had assumed he would be able to keep Sherlock from the lab for longer. Once outside he spotted the taller man waving for a taxi back to Bart's. John decided not to follow. He hated to deal with him when he acting like a petulant child. John chose instead to head back to their flat before he said anything that would get them both in trouble or he punched the man.

"No Molly, after the acid wash not before" Jack gave an aggravated groan before she began to cough. Wet coughs wracked her sounding deep in her chest.  
"I'm sorry, sorry" Molly made the corrections as best she could. Sherlock walked in with a flourish surprised to find Molly still around.  
"Don't you have your own work space" he growled when she gave a surprised squeak, her eyes darting to a new addition to the lab, Jack's personal laptop. He rolled his eyes when he realized what was happening. He saw flashes of Jack from the night before but when he came to view the other side where he met eyes with a much sicker looking version of the women he had spent the night with. He could help,but give a satisfied smirk at it all.  
"Shut up" she snapped  
"I haven't said anything" Sherlock mocking smile growing broader he was genuinely enjoying her discomfort.

"How ever I did warn you" he turned to check the machines for his results, still not completed.  
"Molly leave, I will take it from here" Sherlock dismissed her.  
"But Jack said"  
"Its fine Molly" the sick women sighed, reigned to her fate. Sherlock noticed in the background of Jack's shot that light music was playing, quite classical music, even when sick her world appeared to never be silent. The pathologist left with a weary smile at them both. Jack coughed again pulling her head away from the screen only to return with a warm mug which she clutched to her. While she drank Sherlock took time to really observe her.  
Her hair looked greasy, and some of the strand stuck to her neck, so she was sweating most likely due to a fever a deduction confirmed by the small shake to her body as she clamped the blankets around her tighter so she was experiencing chills. She was pale, her lids still low shielding her eyes from the light and she winced when ever someone was speaking so she had an aversion to light and sound, easy symptoms of a hangover as he I had expected. She had a rather obvious cough, it sounded wetter then he remembered as what ever had taken hold of her was deep in her chest, even her voice was off most likely due to congestion of the nasal cavity. She seemed determined to hold down the tea she was sipping but she still seem to nauseous to eat.  
"Perhaps less alcohol next time" he had meant for it to be a cutting remark but I came out in a much softer tone then he had anticipated.  
"I might have to agree with you on that" he smiled when she looked away for a moment.  
"What you did last night you did, well" Sherlock was unsure how this conversation was suppose to go. He rarely gave willing or direct complements.  
"Thanks?" She seemed unsure of it as well.  
"Yes, well, your analyzer is slow and unresponsive" she scrunched up her nose and set her unfinished glass to the side.  
"Don't insult the equipment. My stuff works great and their is nothing wrong with it so don't go trying to fix it if it ain't broke."  
"That is not proper syntax" Sherlock commented dryly. Jack smirked and for once he joined her.  
"Was kinda the point."  
"You are going to lower my expectation of intelligent conversation if you continue to speak as such."  
"No doubt" she answered but was cut off by another hacking cough.  
"You should see a doctor" Sherlock offered.  
"I see John all the time"  
"That was not what I meant" despite feeling abysmal she gave his a saucy wink and he sighed.  
" your cough sounds to come from your lower diaphragm meaning you will most likely require medication to clear this quickly unless you find pneumonia fun" he gave a cheesy smile and she scowled at him.  
"This thing were doing, conversing, it's going well" she commented.  
"I think it works best when you are far enough away to not cause me physical harm." Sherlock gave her a look to suggest he was joking and was surprised to find she gave him a weak but genuine smile.  
"Will you ever tell me what I got wrong?" He asked, his voice lowered and his eyes scanned her face. Jack vanished for a second to be replaced by the women he had only just started to meet. She seemed to fold in on herself a bit. Her eyes closed as she dropped her chin to her chest.  
"I'm not really sure" he voice was a whisper but to a man who saw and heard every detail it was loud and clear. His concentration was broken when the analyzer behind him beeped. His test were complete he spun collect his information as it started to print it would take a few more moments before it would be fully printed. He heard Jack cough agian, Sherlock winced it sounded almost painful as she fought to catch her breath.  
"Oh my God" Sherlock rushed back to the screen, something was wrong. She sounded horrified, what he found startled him. She had dropped the comforter from around her shoulders exposing a little green tank top but what drew his attention was the scarlet liquid covering her hand and dripping over her lip and down her chin. Her skin had paled further.  
"Jack listen to me, call an ambulance now" he didn't even have the presence of mind to pull the panic from his voice.  
"Sherlock I" her eyes were unfocused as she attempted to stand when she made it to her feet she swayed dangerously.  
"No, Jack stay seated, Jack!" Sherlock grabbed the screen unable to help. He felt lost, unsure of how to act, how to help. His voice broke as he called to her but he could only make out her arm and a portion of her torso, she was still coughing but there was a distinct sound to it, these coughs were bloody. No one knew what was happening, no one was there to help her as Sherlock watched her die. She swayed again but this time she didn't right her self in time. Sherlock caught the sight of her face as she fell past the camera. He saw more blood had spilled from her lips now her chin and throat were painted red and her eyes rolled back into her head. Sherlock felt his mind working but his body felt frozen. He recognized the rush of adrenaline through his body, the sound her body made as it hit the floor, hard wood no doubt.  
The sound of her voice as she had called to him, she was feeling what he was only beginning to recognize in himself, he had only felt it a few times in his life each time worse then the last. Fear, he felt fear. His mind even brought up the fact that it was the first time she had called him by his name instead of a ridiculous nickname she pulled off the top her head.  
"No!" He yelled at himself. He needed to be present, he couldn't afford, Jack couldn't afford for him to lose himself in the moment.  
"Jack" he called to her searching the screen, there was no response and no change.  
"John!" His eyes scanned the room, right John was not here because he had been a dick To his only friend. He pulled out his mobile and dialed his flat mates number as he ran taking the laptop with him as if it was a life line to her.

John looked to his phone when it rang. Anyone who would call wouldn't be calling now. When caller ID read Sherlock his brow rose in surprise, Sherlock never called he preferred to text. John almost didn't answer but with a sigh he pulled the phone up to his ear.  
"John thank God," He was out of breath, another indication something was wrong.  
"Sherlock what's"  
"There is not time. Have you ever been to Jack's flat."  
"What, why"  
"ANSWER ME" he demanded.  
"Yes, yeah, I've been to Jack's flat, but I don't"  
"Can you remember the address?"  
"Um, yeah, yes"  
"The address John"  
"Right yeah" John read it off from his memory as he heard Sherlock relaying it, no doubt to a a cabbie. He offered a hefty reward if he arrived quickly.  
"Now Sherlock you leave that girl be today she needs rest." John feared he had just doomed Jack to Sherlock's company.  
"John, I need you to get there as quickly as you can, I, I think Jack is dying"  
"What!" John leapt from his chair, jacket in hand and rushed down the stairs.  
"Sherlock tell me everything."  
"She was feeling unwell for the week coupled with a hangover I had no reason to think, I didn't know" Sherlock felt like his mind was bouncing around it couldn't seem to decide which image to stay on. A strange kaleidoscope of flashes between the lively women dancing in a throng of sexual energy and her face paper white, stained in her own blood as her eyes rolled back into her head.  
"Sherlock" he heard John demanding in his ear.  
"She has a persistent cough, she began to cough up blood, she was off balance, and unresponsive to vocal stimulus. She then blacked out. I no longer had a visual once she lost consciousness and I could not resume communication there after." Sherlock fought to look from a different prospective, as the detective he knew himself to be running over the detail of a case with his army doctor blogger. But once he had listed off the facts he found his ears ringing with her voice, calling for his help despite their distance.  
"John, I, I think I messed up. I missed something. Something important" Sherlock's voice broke and John was brought to the night of the case with the hound. The night he saw the great Sherlock Holmes scared, for the first time doubting himself.  
"No Sherlock, just, stop." John demeaned of his friend.  
"We will figure this out and we will fix it but I won't have you doubting your self now."  
"Have you called am ambulance?"  
"No"  
"Sherlock, I need to hang up with you. I need to call. Get there quickly Sherlock." He nodded trying to pull his mind back together before the pieces flew any further apart. When the cab pulled up to the curb Sherlock threw every bill in his wallet at the driver before racing to the door. It was locked but with a kick to just the right spot he was in and rushing up her stairs. His mind told him the logical place she would be was her bedroom and based on the structure of her flat he found the right door on the first try.  
She was lying face down, her legs tangled in the same blankets he had seen her in before. One arm was trapped beneath her body while the other stuck out at her side. Her computer was still running and she did not to appear to have moved since her fall. Sherlock checked his phone. Fifteen minutes had passed since she had lost consciousness.  
"Sherlock" he heard John call out from down the hall.  
"Here John" he heard the thuds of a man running before he was roughly pushed to the side by the army doctor. John fell to his knees beside his friend rolling her onto her side. He placed his hand to her throat his face near her own watching and listening for her breathing. Once on her side Sherlock saw even more of her blood on the floor pooled by where her face and lain. He didn't know how to help. All the information in his head stored away to solve puzzles but he had nothing on what to do when the women who intrigued him lay dying at his feet.  
"Her pulse is weak. She needs help now Sherlock" John ran his hand over her body to check for more injuries.  
"Do some thing John" Sherlock didn't like the scene before him, John just sitting beside her inactive.  
"Sherlock there is nothing I can do for her. I don't even know what happened here. If you know, if you know what this is then by God Sherlock tell me now because your right she is dying and I won't lose one of my friends"  
"Shut up John" Sherlock dove to the ground beside him.  
"No you listen Sherlock"  
"Her breathing, John, she is not breathing" His voice broke, his eyes wide in terror.  
"Shit" John pushed her onto her back checking her pulse again, he found nothing.  
"Shit, I need to start compressions" John positioned himself above her, his hand pressing down into her chest beating her heart manually.  
"Every thirty compressions I need you to give two respirations"  
"I, I don't know how to do that" Sherlock eyed her face as her body gave a small jump each time John came down against her rib cage.  
"Tilt back her head till her air passage way is strait, open her jaw and hold closed her nose. Two lung fills of air then you count till you need to do it again. Sherlock you need to do this or she is going to die" He lined himself up with her face and for the first time felt her skin under his own. John nodded to him and he leaned in. His lips brushed hers, she was unresponsive beneath him while he forced air into her lungs her chest rose and fell twice before he pulled away and John resumed his ministrations. Sherlock didn't notice the paramedics till they pushed him away for her, he fought for a moment till recognition set in and he allowed them to do their work. After a whirlwind of activity they left, taking her with them to be transported to the very hospital she so often spent her days. John's hand rested on his friends shoulder.  
" We need to call Lestrade, tell him what's going on" Sherlock didn't move but John. Pulled out his mobile and to dial when he heard a text tone from Sherlock's. He watched his friend read over it. His eyes flicking back and forth so quickly John couldn't tell if he was even comprehending the words he was reading.  
"When you reach Lestrade tell him Mr. Trevor is not our murderer. He is merely a man who intended to have un consented sex with," he seemed to falter at her name. His tone was dead sounding, far off.  
"The test of her drink came up as Flunitrazepam — also known as Narcozep, Rohypnol, Rohipnol, Roipnol, or in the vernacular, simply roofies. However to humor myself I tested a cheek swab from last night as well to ensure she had not consumed any of the beverage. There where traces of all three drugs Ostheomulgen, Halfet, andPPRCH."  
"The poisons that killed those women" John looked horrified.  
"John I was wrong. I chose the wrong man and Jack, she was still poisoned while I watched." Sherlock shut down, he shut himself off from the world staying only in his mind as he sat amongst her things. To distracted to use his opportunity to deduct more of her life from her possessions. He only came to when John slapped him across the face by the level of pain it was not the first time he had been struck to gather his attention.  
"Now listen here Sherlock Holmes. You are going to stop this right now because you are the cleverest man I know and if there is way to fix this it's locked away in that bloody brain of yours so you are going to go to Bart's, go into that god damn lab you two constantly fight over and fix this because if anyone can its you and your going to do it not because you messed up but because she is your friend and you care about her and don't give me any of your shit about being a sociopath because I know you care about her." Sherlock stood as he was ordered, John held out his hand to help him up and Sherlock accepted it.  
They shared a cab in silence. John made no comment whenSherlock turned on the stereo system allowing her music to surround him as if she was there beside him and Sherlock payed no notice when John brushed away a few stray tears for his friend somewhere in Bart's fighting for her life while the fought along with her.

Ok, so to explain a bit. I enjoy the hound episode because I feel it showed a very human side to Sherlock, a side he despises because it is some thing he can not control with sheer will alone and that's fear. To fear for himself or in this case to fear for another. He is a brilliant man and I believe something he would truly fear is to be placed in a situation where someone, particularly a friend would be placed in life threatening peril and be left helpless. This chapter was hard to write. Took me twice as long as normal I was hoping to finish it sooner and of corse you won't see it till the next chapter is done but oh well. Please tell me what you think of this one. Of Jack, even when sick, quite literally dying, still wants to work. Also go me because unlike usual I did not make the words up for roofies, those were real and the CPR stuff I actually happened to know- lifeguard in a past life- Anyway. Tell me what your thoughts are and I will tell you mine.

Love always, Thieves

p.s. Littlebirdd, not only do I love your name but looks like I'm writing this story for me and you now!


	8. Chapter 8

Ok then, after the intensity of the last chapter I hope I can keep this one up to par. I'm having fun though, less so on this chapter but What can you do.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sherlock or anything of that nature and those who do are much better then I.

Preview: Sherlock finally passes out and Jack may be forced to realize she has friends wether she wants them or not.

Two days, Sherlock worked for two strait days finding what they would need to treat her and relaying the information to the hospital staff. At first they would not take his advice so he called in to Mycroft and had her entire team replaced. John was running between trying to help Sherlock and failing and watching over Jack's sleeping form and feeling helpless. Sherlock read through his notes one last time, triple checking his math. The drugs should have counteracted the toxins by now. They had started by pumping her stomach before feeding her vital fluid through IV until he could find the correct medications. He had not spoken to anyone outside of ordering around the medical staff though he was sure he had seen the faces of Molly and Lestrade in the lab space but when he was focused, working to meet a goal, to solve a case it had his absolute focus. He could not allow for any distractions.

John sat beside her, she looked so weak in the bed. Her face was clear but the heavy bruising of sleep deprivation and illness made her look like she had gone several rounds in a ring and not just a night out with Sherlock. Molly, unsure of what else to do had gently brushed out her hair and neatly braided it for her, it now sat like a coiled rope beside her pillow. She had been intabated and the tube down her throat seemed grotesque when he was so use to seeing a playful smile on her face. Her body was tightly wrapped in blankets, her fever had broken the night before. One arm was heavily bruised, no doubt sprained as well, from taking the impact of the hard wood floor full on And during his administration of CPR he had cracked three of her ribs. Lestrade stepped into the room, hanging near the door. The case had weighed on him for some time but this seemed to take the cake. The man was guilty, he had pushed to have it solved and the amazing young women was in the hospital because of it. What's worse is they had nothing to show for her sacrifice.  
"How is she?" John gave a weary smile.  
"Her fever broke, what ever Sherlock is doing it's working but it will take time"  
"How did this happen? I mean all the other women, they had days, it, it was hours" Lestrade fell hard agianst the wall and slide to the floor beside the door when the door way was darkened by another.  
"Miss Macotii is not like the others" his voice still sounded off John felt as he watched Sherlock scan her body no doubt deducing her current state from across the room.  
"The other women cared for their bodies religiously. They ate healthy, slept at regular intervals, exercised to maintain body condition, they socialized nightly. Jack does none of these things instead of being absorbed with the digesting food she was a absorbing nothing but toxins, alcohol included. Her immune system was already compromised, the toxins were so potent in her blood stream it thinned her blood so far that even the simple act of coughing as she was drew blood. The medications should take effect fully in the next thirty two hours." John finally placed the change in his voice, the great consulting detective was tired, exhausted by everything both physically, he had not been sleeping often while on the case and for forty eight hours strait he had not dropped for rest, he had not eaten in those same times. But also for a man with the emotional range of a spoon he had had a rather emotional few days.  
"Why don't we get some thing to eat Greg" John didn't give the man a option as he hauled him to his feet.  
"Stay here with her" John ordered Sherlock as he pushed him towards the chair at her bed side. Since the incident Sherlock had distanced himself from her, never coming to her room when anyone was around to witness it. Sherlock watched the measured rise and fall of her breaths, the monitor in the corner beeped a constant rhythm but Sherlock couldn't help but feel it was all to quite for Jack. He pulled out an iPod he had pick pocketed from her when she was being particularly annoying one evening. He found a playlist marked favorites and with a gentleness that no one would expect from him he slipped her favorite black ear phones into her ears and pressed play.  
"I do not think they will allow you to play it at the volume you find necessary but this will have to do" she made no response. He sat back in the chair to think. He had first deduced she was in her thirties, a women dressing in bizarre fashion choices to desperately grasp at her youth but laying there bare of it all she looked much younger, he would now place her at 25 at best. He knew she did not eat or sleep often when on a case much like himself but with out the makeup to hide the evidence she appeared far more unhealthy. He always said the rest was just transport but hers appeared to be failing. He had the thought that perhaps this was why John pressured him so much to eat more but his thoughts were becoming muddled so me pushed that aside. He struggled for coherent thought but his own transport betrayed him and he dropped off to sleep. When John retuned he smiled at the sight, it was only a matter of time before the lanky man passed out.  
"He cares about her" Lestarde voiced John's thoughts for him.  
"You know what kind of danger that will put her in." John warned.  
"You think he is going to do something stupid"  
"He's Sherlock, for such a brilliant man he can be incredibly stupid, yes, I think he is going to do something he is going to regret."  
"She is going to be ok isn't she?" Lestrade eyed John gauging his response.  
"Her vitals are strong, when they test her blood every few hours the level of toxins are falling as they should. They will be reevaluating her need for the respirator in few hours. She has a few cracked ribs and will be in some pain, she is coming back Greg but," At that John looked at the room, their two geniuses sleeping almost peacefully.  
"She technically died Greg. Her heart stopped they had to use defib twice in the ambulance with the CPR. There is always risk for brain damage when that happens. We won't know anything until she wakes." Before they could say more Molly showed up again with bright yellow carnations.  
"Oh sorry, I, I thought the room seemed a bit dreary, I mean hospitals with living people always seem so sad to me" Molly blushed  
"I mean I know I work with dead people and that's sad too but."  
"Their lovely Molly" John led them all into the room quietly setting them down on a small table.  
"She won't like them" they heard the detective sprawled out on the chair mumble.  
"Thought you were asleep"  
"Hmm, no, thinking" Sherlock's voice was thick but no one corrected him.  
"Why won't she like them then?"Molly asked, she had been a bit stronger around him at Jack's insistence.  
"She hates bright colors particularly yellow and green. She does her best to never even interact with the colors. I once did an experiment I placed several pens in a cup in the lab, she is always losing pens when she unknowingly sticks them in her hair, each pen was a different color but contained the same shade of black ink. By the end of the week the back and red pen where missing, blue and dark green and significantly less ink and all other colors, showed only small amounts of usage however the yellow and pale green pens had not even had their caps removed. She avoided them purely based on their color."  
"They are lovely flowers Molly, don't let him bully you" John offered when she looked a bit down.  
"Hang on a tic, you did an experiment to see what colors Jack liked?" Lestrade seemed to find the whole thing unendingly humorous. Sherlock seemed stunned for a moment but recovered quickly.  
"A persons color preference can tell you a lot about them" Sherlock scowled and sank lower into his chair. Their was considerably less conversation fromSherlock once he began pouting but movement on the bed drew all their attention, John sent Molly to quickly find a nurse as Jack's eyes fluttered open. John joined Sherlock in leaning over the bed. Her eyes looked scared as her brain tried to process why she couldn't draw in her own air. Her hands moved to claw at her throat in the process dislodging her ear buds.  
"Jack listen to me" John took her hands into his own and brought them back down to her sides. Her eyes locked with his, they were wide, her pupils blown open in fear.  
"There is a breathing tube we have gone to get a doctor but you need to calm down until he gets here." John spoke in soothing tones and she nodded in understanding. A nurse rushed in with most of Jack's medical team trailing him they worked quickly sliding the tube from her body causing her to cough hoarsely. She kept trying to speak up the doctor would shush her with each attempt. Her eyes finally found Sherlock's.  
"Bartender" was all she could get out, her voice rough and unrecognizable but Sherlock's eyes lit up.  
"Oh, Stupid!" He hit his head with his hands but he was smiling widely. He pushed a nurse away to grab either side of her head.  
"You brilliant clever girl" he kissed her forehead in excitement.  
"Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise"  
"You're the only one who says I'm not" her words sounded painful but she smiled along with him none the less.  
"Oh, how could I have been so stupid" he spun to face the others but they all looked confused.  
"Ok, what are you on about then?" Lestrade asked sensing something important had just occurred.  
"Statistically speaking men are more likely to drug women but women, women are more likely to use poison as a weapon. We were looking at the wrong sex. Who is a women who would go unnoticed in a club like that, guaranteed entrance every night, and would have access to every drink with out suspicion." He was met by blank stares as the medical team continued their check on Jack.  
"Nothing really, oh it must be so boring in your brains. Jack just woke from a coma and she gets it, come on think" Sherlock was pacing the room.  
"The bartender!" John exclaimed.  
"If we move quickly we may still get her" Lestrade ran from the room along with the detective and his blogger. Molly stayed behind waiting for the team to finish before sitting down beside her.  
"Why are you" Jack tried to ask despite the doctors orders to stay silent till her throat had a chance to heal a bit.  
"You don't have to talk" Molly interupted.  
"Why?" Jack tried for shorter sentences.  
"Am I here?" Molly asked  
"Because your my friends Jack, thats why all of us were here. We wanted to be here for you. Even Sherlock, he thinks no one knows but he came to visit you a lot. He cares about you even if he doesn't want to." Jack grimaced. She didn't want friends, Molly frowned when her words didn't get the reception she had expected.  
"I know you don't like it" Jack tired to look apologetic, Molly was lovely but friends only meant there was someone who could hurt you.  
"No don't be sorry. I can tell you don't really want them, but you have them anyway. Your kind of like Sherlock in that. He didn't want friends but he has them now and I think they make him a better person" Molly smiled and squeezed her friends hand where it lay on the bed, Jack squeezed back.  
"Get better" Molly left to return to her work while Jack lay with only her thoughts. Hours turned as the light faded out side her window with the night sky replacing the sun and clouds. When she was sure she was alone she let a few tears slip from her eyes, they had told her how close she had come to not pulling through. As her tears dried her thoughts turned to how much she now owed Sherlock now, she owed him her life, she sighed, she would have to be nicer to him at the very least.  
"We found her, Meredith Osprey, Scotland Yard is going to her residence as we speak to arrest her"  
"You didn't go with them" there was no question in her soft voice.  
"I was not allowed, apparently they feared I would do something irrational"  
"You?" She asked in mock surprise.  
"Yes, the last time someone I care for was hurt her attacker was thrown out a second story window, several times" she lifted a brow at his words more so the first part then the later.  
"You once said were big enough to admit you needed my help, I will return the favor by being big enough to admit, in some small way, that I care. Much like John I find your usefulness to out weight your irritating qualities and your companionship is not unwelcome"  
"Well don't I feel all warm and fuzzy" Jack commented but Sherlock was awarded a smile for his honesty. He turned to leave all he had come to say having been said.  
"Thank you" the voice was soft but it was different, this once again was the other half of Jack he did not know.  
"You saved my life"  
"Lestrade would have never allowed me another case if you had been permanently harmed." Sherlock didn't turn to face her.  
"And mop top, my lab better be in perfect working order when I get back there" Sherlock smiled.  
"It will be once I'm through with it." He gave her a wink as he rounded the door and left, his long coat sweeping out behind him. Jack didn't want to feel the swell of emotion in her chest but she smiled none the less.

Ok shorter but to be fair the last two kinda took a lot so bite me. Do not fear Jack's back and the angst is just around the corner. Still a mystery but Sherlock seems to like her a bit more. I tend to write Molly weak but I think she will start to strengthen up a bit under Jack's new regime. So why doesn't Jack want friends, what happened in the past to cause her to mistrust people who get close, what is her real name! Because I swear to you she has one. Anywho, please review if not this chapter the the last one. As always  
- Theives

p.s. Welcome Baiters08, nice to see a new face (of sorts). Thanks so much for the review good job by the way ;).


	9. Chapter 9

I think I have become to productive for my own good at this time only four chapters have been posted but I am all the way out here on chapter 9. WOOT! Ok so this is a bit of filler before we dive right back into the heavier stuff just yet. Giving myself a bit of a break, kinda, but in other news, still no reviews, granted you guys haven't had a chance at the good stuff yet I still love watching to see the number of people viewing this story rise. Onto the show I guess.

Disclaimer: I feel these are silly, I give full credit to these who created these stories that I am borrowing but really if you thought it was just me this story would be a bit more popular I would think.

Preview: Well look how far they have come.

John walked through Bart's. After several days in the hospital under close observation Jack had been released home. John made sure to invite her to dinner every night her first week free to ensure she ate. Sherlock made no comment, in fact he seemed almost pleasant to her even partaking in a few of the meals himself. After a week of required leave from work, though everyone was well aware Sherlock and Molly had been sneaking her equipment to use at home to keep her mind busy, Jack was allowed back into her lab. There had been some tension at first, Sherlock had not been entirely joking about changing her lab but after a sharp slap to the back of his head in reprimand and a few hours to move everything back into order she seemed her old snarky, sassy, sarcastic self. Her clothing a little loose from a bit of weight lose while sick she bounced back quickly. Not four months later and she walked around like nothing had happened at all.  
John reflected that is was close to being as it had been before she had arrived, before the fall even. Sherlock spent just as much time out solving cases with John as he did in the lab with Jack who he often brought in even on his own cases to help. Going as far to listen to her suggestions and keeping the insults to a minimum. John laughed to himself if it wasn't Sherlock Holmes he would almost say he fancied the girl. At the very least she seemed more accepting to their friendships. She made efforts to go out with Molly at least once a week. Teaching the quite pathologist how to be more out going. She came to 221b often, alternating between helping Sherlock with cases and helping John wrangle the over grown child when he grew bored. As he got closer to the lab the familiar thuds of her music was a comfort.  
Inside he couldn't help to watch just how far, how comfortable the two worked together. The music was some sort of dance mix that had Jack bobbing her head enthusiastically to the down beats, she bounced lightly on the balls of her feet as she swayed moving one slide off her micro scope and adjusting for another making note in her ever present black notebook before sliding her favorite red pen into her hair that sat in a large mass at the crown of her head joining several others that jutted out at random angles. The blue green glitter she had paired with the thick teal eye shadow that colored above her eyes glinted as she moved. Her solitary black feather hung from her left ear swirled wildly with her movements. Just like her music even when focused Jack seemed to exude energy while Sherlock sat at the other side of their shared work space the picture if focused stillness.  
His hair was oddly shaped squashed beneath the thick head phones he wore to block out the music. She had pulled a good joke on the man when she had hidden away all the other pairs and decorated the headphones with red and silver plastic crystals his name and a skull now glittered surrounded by his dark, wild curls. He had tried going with out them but had given up only minutes in when she turned on a girly pop song just to torture him. In return he had found all her hair ties and cut them in half so she would be forced to wear her hair down the rest of the work day. John watched as Sherlock looked up and slammed his hand on the table making the files around him jump. Jack looked up it meet his call and he gestured for a bottle of green liquid stored behind her she showed no signs of being irritated by his interruption. She tossed him the bottle and he caught it with no effort, opening it and drawing some liquid out with a syringe he continued on as if no one else was there and John smiled wider when he came to realize this was more then likely a normal interaction for the two of them. John placed his hand on her shoulder to draw her attention, she smiled wildly to him and motioned for him to give her a second.  
"I'll meet you in the hall" he shouted over the noise but she was already paying attention else where. Twenty minutes later and he finally heard the music lower.  
"John here then?"Sherlock asked as he dropped the headset to around his neck and ruffled his hair.  
"Yeah, outside" she pointed over her shoulder to the doors as she pulled the tie from her hair shaking her head then bending forward her hair fell around her face like a black waterfall before she drew it all back together and back into her favorite messy bun. Sherlock had deduced she did this to relieve the tension it caused on her scalp though why she always returned to this particular hair style he didn't know.  
"So why are we doing this again?" She asked pulling off the lab coat she had finally taken to wearing and donning her leather one instead.  
"I have been told friends often go out to spend the evening in each other company to strengthen and reaffirm thier bond with each other. You do so with Molly" Jack laughed out right before clamping a hand over her mouth.  
"What, what did I do wrong?"  
"Nothing, it just, you want to go out for a night with friends, to, to affirm our bond"  
"Shut up" Sherlock rolled his eyes at her as she gave him a look to suggest he was kidding.  
"No, no, it's good. I have been feeling a bit under affirmed lately"  
"John seemed to think it was good" she only teased him with a smile. As they both met John and found a cab. They found themselves out side Angelo's at Sherlock's insistence that he chose their dinning location. They were immediately rushed into the booth reserved for Sherlock's visits.  
"oh Sherlock, such beautiful company you keep" Angelo cooed to Jack as he kissed her cheeks in greeting. She was in looser fitting swishy black top with gossamer layers that floated away from her body paired with her favorite pair of back zipper pants and combat boots. John smiled cheekily at her and she rolled her eyes.  
"Any thing on the menu and I make it myself. I bring you my best wine." He bustled off in a whirlwind of commands to his staff.  
"You charm him like you charm club owners and housewives?" Jack teased.  
"I got him off a murder charge by successfully proving he was on the other side of town committing serial home invasions."  
"How, kind of you?" Sherlock only shrugged. As they ordered and their food came John and Jack talked while Sherlock added his own commentary as he saw fit.  
"What are you working on then with out a case?" John inquired politely.  
"The effect of varying degrees of intensity of light and heat on the optic nerve."Jack was genuinely pleased with her self.  
"As the degree in temperature changes you will see"  
"No" Jack interrupted suddenly as Sherlock began to explain his previous findings in the matter.  
"But I have" he looked confused.  
"No, the fun part if figuring it out myself" he contemplated her answer sensing she was getting at something else.  
"Wouldn't you agree Mister Holmes" she winked at his slight discomfort on the subject. She knew he was constantly trying to deduce more about her.  
"Why do you insist on calling me everything but my own name?" He snapped.  
"That was your name" she gave him a sever look as if he was being unreasonable.  
"You know what I mean do not insult your own intelligence"  
"You don't call me by mine" the candlelight of the restaurant flickered around them, John sensed the conversation had just become a bit more intense then their friendly banter so far.  
"I can not use it if I do not know it" Sherlock's voice was low, he always hated admitting what he didn't know. Jack smiled earnestly to settle Sherlock's growing attitude.  
"Yeah, sorry but it's a no go there" After leaving the hospital, to aide their friendship she would be more honest with them both but she laid down the laws that some subjects she would not broach and Sherlock had this far not pushed the rules. A chime sounded for her pocket and she looked surprised as she pulled it out of her back pocket. Sherlock spotted a flash of pain in her eyes as she read what ever she had received but she squashed it out quickly and hid it behind a smile the dazzled a bit to brightly.  
"Well this evening has been, fun, I guess and I assure you beanpole I am feeling very affirmed" Sherlock scowled as John gave her a questioning look.  
"But I am suppose to feed Anubis tonight and I have work to finish at home so gentlemen." She bowed to Sherlock and pulled John into a hug. Spotting her exit Angelo helped her into her jacket and wished to see her again.

Anubis had been a gift and a strange one at that. When she had gotten home from the hospital people had started bringing over gifts to congratulate her on not being dead she supposed. While some were food items or flowers some had been a bit bigger Molly, a new microscope, Donavon had even sent over a blanket but the night Sherlock showed up with his she had been a bit shocked. He handed her a white sack tied tightly and while she worked at the knot he stowed a brown paper bag away in her freezer. Jack was happy she knew her snake species. A corn snake with a strange color morph, an all white body and a freckling of black marks down its back it's head overlaid in dark splotches to look like a skull mask and silver, grey eyes met her at the bottom of the bag she looked to him with a quizzical expression, her forehead scrunched, one brow cocked.  
"You are with out companionship and as I was unsure of any allergies pertaining to pet dander and the time obligations some pets can require I figured a snake was the most hypoallergenic, least time consuming animal to fit the bill."  
"And if I had been afraid of snakes?" His brows furrowed.  
"I, I had not considered that option" he confessed but Jack laughed.

"This was, thoughtful, of you" Sherlock inclined his head to her.  
"You know the sex on it?" She asked as she placed her hands in the bag with out hesitation and allowed the reptile to coil around her wrist, he was still rather small. Sherlock shook his head in a negative.  
"It's fine, I can sex it"  
"You can correctly identify the gender of a snake?" Sherlock questioned.  
"Yep" She popped the p the way she knew annoyed him and got to work on putting together a home for him to live. She named Anubis after the Egyptian god of funerals and grave sites, a fitting name they both felt. She repaid him a week later by presenting him with a full grown tarantula named Brisby, they agreed to leave John unaware of his second house mate. Sherlock and John left the restaurant soon after her.

Jack walked down the street choosing to walk home to clear her head as she read and reread the text she had received. The silence was deafening to someone who surrounded themselves with music constantly. She passed in and out of the street lights. She didn't feel threatened in the darkness. She smiled when she saw a newspaper plow past her caught on a breeze that chilled her a bit. Meredith Osprey, the women who had taken the lives of five innocent women before trying to take Jack's would be going to trial in a few months but her fate was very nearly sealed thanks to Sherlock and her own detective work. Everything was squared away with the case. She had even gotten some medal of some sort but she hadn't shown up,for the ceremony much to Lestrade's annoyance. She retrieved her phone again and pressed dial.  
"Hey mom, you wanted to talk?"

Well, well, well. This chapter was actually more fun then I expected. I got,to,play with Jack and Sherlock being nice to each other, plugged my own pet snake who is the coolest even if you don't know it and still got in a plot point towards the end three.I knew this one would be short but still longer then I had anticipated. Wanna know what song Jack was bobbing along to, Animal by Martin Garrix it's fun to write to. So still no guesses on her name? Any and all questions, concerns, and comments are loved. Ta at loves.  
-Thieves

p.s. Neese96 and Leevana, you are humbly welcomed. And littlebird, you are awesome, good job but can you guess the biggest mystery, can anyone?


	10. Chapter 10

Ok well wow guys loving all of you wrote in, you are inspiration for my brain. This chapter is to fill for when the real drama gets started. That should be happening soon if I do this chapter right. I'm going to give you a couple different views of Sherlock, John, Jack, and even Molly in this chapter and help time pass a bit more. Thank you so far lovelies.

Disclaimer: Yeah, don't own anything, though I guess technically own Jack... If that's even her name...which we already know it is not.

Preview: Lots of things, just, lots of things and maybe a date... Well probably a date.

Jack tugged at her top while she adjusted her view in the microscope agian. She had come in expecting to work on a few private projects while Lestrade's department was with out a case but had been quickly roped into helping out with the a few suspected arsons along with Anderson. While he was still out in the field collecting evidence she was fiddling with a few slides she had prepped in hopes for her plans the night before. Her music was pumping but she just wasn't into the beats when her eyes caught Sherlock sweep into the lab, ear phones already in place agianst the onslaught of her tunes. She gave him a smile but his eyes didn't even acknowledge her shock caused her brow to scrunch in disappointment she had gotten use to their usual exchanges which had begun to gradually warm when a week ago he had suddenly become frigid towards her. When she had spoken to John. On the matter he suggested the sociopath was trying to pull away, to care less for her since he still seemed to believe that alone protected him. John had been waiting for it to happen but Jack still seemed put out by it, for a genius he could be incredibly thick sometimes. The doctor was no where in sight so she figured he was at work while Sherlock had come here to alleviate boredom.  
Anderson pushed through the door half an hour later with a box in his arms. His eyes did a sweep of her taking in the view of her breast tight beneath her shirt while she was bent over her scope, he made a point to walk behind her, his hip brushing her back side before setting the box down.  
"I could always help out" he tried to be seductive leaning over her a bit to speak into her ear under the guise of having to be close to be heard over her music.  
"No need. Anyway you need to write up the reports for this case as it is" She stood up, it pressed her closer to him but it made her feel less exposed.  
"It could wait" he offered his hand rested on her arm as he smiled.  
"Not sure you should do that, would hate for you to be to busy later if a case pops up" he still didn't move.  
"Plus, I would hate to give Donavan the wrong impression" he growled at her implication of ratting him out to his mistress but pushed away none the less.  
"Have something by this afternoon" he ordered though he really had no sway over her. Once he was gone she flicked her music down to a more manageable level before staring daggers into the consulting deceive bent over a Petri dish.  
"Thanks" she hissed sarcasticly when he finally noticed her heated look and pulled down the head phones. He gave her a quizzical look but she knew him well enough by now.  
"Thanks, for the help"  
"What help?" He asked, monotone.  
"Oh, ya know doing anything to get that whole mess to stop before it got to uncomfortable for everyone involved"  
"I was not involved" Sherlock answered simply, Jack rolled her eyes.  
"Obviously" she muttered as she flicked the volume back up making Sherlock wince at the sudden volume, glaring at the women as he hurridly pulled the ear devices back on for protection. She started pulling evidence from the box, when it was all laid before her she slapped the table top to get the other occupants attention. His reaction to her was slower then nessecary.  
"You wanna help?" She mouthed knowing he would read her lips but he mouthed back busy and dismissed her, she only scowled and got to work.

John pushed open the doors to the lab, Jack had gotten him his own set of head phones as a gift to protect his hearing. He stopped for a second, the music was the same as always. Jack was standing on her side surrounded by charred evidence no doubt from the arson he had been hearing about in the news while Sherlock's work surface was mostly bare besides what was under his hands as he worked.

You said it was important that a get here quickly- JW

Sherlock read the text quickly before finding John hovering near the doors. His blogger found texting easier then trying to talk over the heavy music. John had not moved sensing something was off in the atmosphere of the room.

We have a case-SH

And you couldn't have said that in a text- JW

I did. I said I needed your help and it was an emergency-SH

No, this is a case. I thought you or Jack were hurt-JW

Sherlock didn't even offer an response. John rolled his eyes at his flat mates antics. Jack had still not looked up from her case. Her back seemed uncomfortably rigid as she stood. John ignored the man to place a hand on her shoulder. She didn't jump as if startled but she didn't look up either, something was going on. He felt the air shift as Sherlock walked by and he quickly followed, after all they had a case.  
" What did you do?" He asked the consulting detective. He had gotten the man to explain the case, or at the very least as much as he was going to tell John before he fell silent.  
"What are you on about John"  
"With Jack, what did you say?"  
"I did not do or say anything" his face was blank.  
"And she is not happy with you because for once Sherlock Holmes didn't say anything" John sounded angry to the sociopath but he couldn't understand why, that is exactly what had happened. He assumed the woman's anger came from him not saying anything during Anderson's interaction with her.  
"Precisely" Sherlock answered.  
"Now stop talking, stop thinking, don't even breath to much I need quite to think" Sherlock settled into his mind palace and John sighed heavily.

Jack tried again to refocus. She had heard the doors to the lab open and close but she was to frustrated to deal with Sherlock right now. She growled and shoved herself away from evidence. She heard a surprised squeak even over the music. Her eyes were wide when she spotted the pathologist a few feet away looking startled at the dark haired women's outburst. Jack scrolled her music to quite and tried to look apologetic.  
"Sorry Molly, just a frustrated with all this." She gestured at the mess around her.  
"Um, yeah, you said tonight was good for, for, you know" Molly blushed and Jack took notice of the women's outfit. She had taken Jack's advice wearing closer fitting jeans and a dark tighter fitting blouse even if it was hidden away under a cardigan. Her hair was loose and her makeup natural looking, she was even wearing a bit of lipstick which made her lips look larger. Jack cringed a bit.  
"You, you don't have to go" Moly assuaged.  
"No, Project get Molly laid is a go, a need a good drink and a great distraction" Jack smiled a bit more warmly when her friend blushed deeply. Jack ran her hands down her outfit. She was wearing a deep purple shirt and dark wash tight fitting jeans with her combat boots. Her makeup was heavy black and silver her usual jewelry in her ears paired with the heavy skull shaped silver charm.  
"Let's drop by my place let me change and then we drink like we don't have to solve an arson for Anderson tomorrow." Jack hit the wall switches once everything was repacked properly.  
"Um yeah" Molly answered unsure.  
"Molly what time is it?"  
"Its, I mean, it's only 9" Jack spun around and grabbed Molly's shoulders.  
"Ok, women up Molly. I have an emergency bag in my car there should have a good shirt in there, I have a good bar planned for us but you have to be a little less, this" Molly dropped her head down but Jack thumped her shoulders to encourage her before she began stripping the pathologist out of her cardigan roughly.  
"What are you doing?" Molly's voice was tight.  
"You need to loosen up. You are great Molly but you are a little to comfortable hiding behind a stutter and... Cardigans" Jack said the last part like it was a dirty word and tucked Molly into her own leather jacket. Molly looked surprised.  
"Now you look hot" Jack linked arms with her before pulling her off towards the car park. Jack unlocked her car and pulled open the trunk to grab a dark colored gym bag.  
"So why do you have a bag of clothing in your car?" Molly asked as she buckled herself in.  
"Its a go bag, everything I could need in any situation" Jack pulled off her top and pulled on a back low slung, spaghetti strap number behind her car, out in the open, Molly tired to look away but Jack seemed unaffected. As if she gave no mind that some one could have seen her in nothing but jeans and a black lace bra.  
"I guess it's just an old habit" Jack shrugged as she joined Molly in the car and they left.

John sat in his chair when Sherlock suddenly jumped from his own. He ran into his room pulling off his dressing gown and throwing on his coat but he paused for a moment as if unsure.  
"Where are we going?" John asked rising to join him.  
"No, I don't need you"  
"Is this part of the case?" John's confusion evident, Sherlock loved having an audience for his genius but Sherlock ignored him.

Jack nursed a drink, her second to be specific. Molly was on the other side of the room filtering up a man who was tall with short dark hair, they both seemed nervous which made the whole thing rather cute.  
"You seem kinda lonely" a man dropped into the seat beside her but she didn't look his way.  
"I love your necklace, I have this thing about bones" at that Jack rolled her eyes expecting him to mean some sort of corny inappropriate joke but when she laid eyes on him she could tell he was serious, he liked bones. His hair was chestnut brown and swept back away from his face just brushing his shoulders, his dark button down shirt was rolled up to his elbows and paired with jeans. Visible on his neck and down his forearms were tattoos, most of skeletal structures. His face was well per portioned with a strong jaw with slight shadow of dark hair and shapely lips. Jack felt a bit surprised at how attractive she found him.  
"Jack" she offered her hand  
"Exzander" his smile was genuine. Jack watched Molly again she had moved closer to the interested man, his hand was resting on her arm. The music around them was a little rougher then Jack liked but it seemed to be working for both girls.  
"Like I said you seem lonely" she relaxed a bit on her stool and turned to face him more taking another swig.  
"Brought my friend out tonight trying to get her to break out of her good girl shell a bit" Jack smirked feeling flattered at his attention, it was not revolting like that of the men in the club from months back or Anderson.  
"And that means you can't enjoy yourself?"  
"Up until now I had no reason to"  
"And are you enjoying yourself now?" His voice dropped a bit.  
"A bit" Jack downed the rest of her drink and ordered another keeping a close eye on the bartender as he prepared it.  
"So what do you do Jack?"  
"Polite conversation?" She asked surprised.  
"Trying" he gave her a quizzical look.  
"Just, not use to that. I'm a lab tech for New Scotland Yards homicide devision" his brows rose impressed instead of surprised and disgusted like she usually got from men.  
"A lab jockey" Jack laughed at the term.  
"Yeah, you?" She was genuinely curious about he man now.  
"Let's say I'm a hunter of the weird and strange." His smile dazzled her for a second with white almost sharp looking teeth.  
"But my real passion is rearticulating human and animal skeletons. Like I said, I have a thing about bones." Jack smiled fully, he was not as bad as she had originally assumed.  
"Working on anything fun?" She asked  
"Yeah actually, a Rock Hyrax skeleton came in. Did you know that they are small and rodent looking but their closest living relative is an"  
"Elephant" Jack interrupted. She was enjoying his accent, different then the London accents she had grown accustomed to but she was never good at placing geographic locations by accent alone.  
"You know your animals" he laughed with her.  
" A bit"  
"You then, anything interesting?"  
"Not that I can tell you" she winked and they both laughed again. The two sat together longer talking, Jack didn't even see Molly leave with her new flame, a text letting her know not to worry was her only consolation that Molly was safe and frankly mission completed.  
Jack watched Exzander as he paid his tab and her own, he had offered, and they left together as well.

Sherlock watched the two interact and held back further. He had heard Jack offer to take Molly out, he figured it would be a good as time as any to make up for his earlier behavior before John heard of it and forced him to apologize. He had meant to keep Jack company while Molly stuttered about attempting awkward human interaction with human that were still living. But he had stopped short when she had been approached by another. He prepared himself to intercede when her back and shoulders tightened but in seconds she opened up towards the man. Her body relaxed she even brushed his arm with her hand when she was laughing showing obvious sexual attraction. Sherlock pushed back the tightness in his chest and pulled further into the shadows so he wouldn't be spotted. He waited till they left to return to 221b finding solace in his violin despite the time and with no regard to John.

"So this is your lab?" Exzander wandered the lab his fingers trailed over some of the equipment. The music was softer today to allow for conversation. When Jack had awoke that morning to find the man still in bed with her she had been a bit surprised but more so when he offered to spend the day with her. He had said he wasn't looking for a one night stand and a day with her would be enough to feel like less of a prev, he had also offered up a date later in the week both she had taken him up on. She smiled when he made it back around to her and leaned over by her microscope meeting her eyes.  
"It's amazing, I could show you my work space some time." He smiled as she readjusted a new slide. Sherlock stepped into the lab and suppressed a growl of irritation spotting her previous nights partner. Outside of the dim lights of the bar he could better deduce the man.  
"Oh, hello mate didn't know anyone else used this lab" Exzander straitened his posture and offered his hand but Sherlock brushed past him to return to the Petri dishes he had been working the day before. Checking for bacteria growth that would answer the final question in his case. He pulled out his phone texting his client when he found them covered in bacteria growth. A wealthy family had believed themselves cursed but it was in fact their housekeeper/ personal chef adding bacteria scraping into their nightly meals. Jack rolled her eyes at the lanky mans reaction. Sherlock straitened up and scanned the man analytically. Exzander squirmed a bit under the scrutiny but Jack was distracted by what she had found under her scope.  
"35, of Irish decent, travel often so your accent is diminished so you have not returned home since you left when you were twelve. You work for yourself but report to another dust on you clothing but you didn't return there last night and I know Miss Macotii cleans her home regularly though I don't know when she finds the time considering she spends on average 80 to 90 hours a week in her lab, something you may want to consider if intending for a more serious relationship. The tattoos in your arms show you have a strange attachment to bones and death added with the bone dust on your left sleeve. Should I be taking you down to the yard, but no, you are a collector. You search out oddities that can be sold to the highest bidder oddities of the rare and disturbing variety. But you also work with your hands, slight burn marks around your fingertips you use a soldering tool most likely on bronze since that works best in rearticulating bones. I have a human skull if you're ever interested" Sherlock smile was wide and false. He still didn't raise his hand to meet Exzander.  
"Ignore him, I do for the most part." Jack offered while Exzander scramble to understand what had just happened.  
"I'm sorry, who are you, how did you do that?" He didn't sound amazed like John had the first time, he sounded almost uneasy at Sherlock's deductions and the man smirked.  
"Sherlock Holmes, meet Exzander" she faltered a bit when she didn't know his last name. Sherlock seemed more the smug.  
"Kinley, and I have a rather large collection of human remains Mr. Holmes including nearly thirty human skulls, some are rather fascinating if you might want to take a look." He had recovered quickly catching at the very least the man was doing this to gode Jack. The consulting detective seemed miffed by his recovery.  
"Look maybe we just wait for that date Thursday, you're busy with this stuff and I have a lawyer to meet with about my latest find" he smiled and kissed her cheek as he moved out of the lab she watched until the door swung closed and spun to face the detective her happy expression dropping instantly.  
"Don't bother me Holmes" her voice was sharp.  
"I could continue my deductions if you would like"  
"I really wouldn't" he ignored her.  
"He had stains on his shirt showing clear signs he has not had a relationship in several years, if he dated often he would have nicer clothing and if he had just exited one he would still have the right mind to check for such problems. He intended to only use you for sexual intercross but since you showed interest in his work, particularly his bones he decided to keep you around but he will be noncommittal long term and will leave you should a better, younger option come around, considering he travels world wide often this shouldn't take long. If you don't want to catch him in bed like you did your former relationship before running off to London to escape it I wouldn't pursue this any further." She watched him for a moment.  
"From a shirt stain?" She asked, her tone as though she was unimpressed. Sherlock hummed in confirmation. She only shrugged.  
"What ever, it was good sex" she grabbed the last of her files. She had found evidence of foul play in the supposed arson in the form of accelerants and needed to bring it to Anderson.

"Is that all?" Jack stopped, confused by his question.

"Is what all?"

"You were ok with all that because he is proficient at sexual intercourse?"

"I like men with weird talents Beanpole and he was crazy good" Sherlock's brows rose.

"At identifying bones by shape and taste alone" Sherlock swallowed to rid himself of the thick feeling in his throat.

"Down boy" she muttered with a wink before she left him alone.

Jack sat on her sofa her music still low and soft before pulling out her phone and dialing her mother.  
"Hey mom"  
"Oh, darling I was hoping you would call. Me and your father have missed you so much" her mother sounded teary.  
"We still need to know if you will be coming. You don't have to worry about what everyone will say dear, we just want you home."  
"I don't, I mean, with work and everything it, not this time" Jack scrambled for an excuse. Sherlock was right about one thing she had ran and she was no where near ready to head home.  
"Darling, we could pay if that's the problem" Jack moved to put on a kettle.  
"No, it's not that"  
"So you have a job then?"  
"Yeah, I mean it's nothing much but I get paid so that's always great." She had never gotten around to explaining to her parents what she did. They knew she had gone to college but Jack was pretty sure they though she worked as a waitress of some sort.  
"If you're sure"  
"I'm sure mom, give dad my love"  
"Just call us more, we worry" Jack had already hung up, she changed the tune playing to something more upbeat and chose a packet of hot chocolate in leu of tea. She texted John to confirm their lunch date Wednesday and Molly who was more then willing to gossip about her new man, Eric, from the bar. They were already on their third date in a week. Jack felt bad she had never called Exzander, he would have made an interesting partner but Sherlock was onto something when he said she couldn't handle a relationship right now, not this time of year.

Ok, so it was kinda a date, Sherlock got to be a creepy stalker but he meant well. Anderson got prevy and Jack seems a bit out of sorts but there is more to come of that. There are now four of you following me and four reviews, well, well this is rather nice! Any guess on her name or what could be coming up, questions, concerns, recipes for banana bread? Anyway...

-Theives


	11. Chapter 11

So,here we are again, if this goes as it should you should be getting the first part of the real drama in this chapter and it should continue quickly from there. So we know Jack ran from something and that something is coming that seems to bother her quite a bit. Have fun with the story, I know I am.

Disclaimer: don't own nothin

Preview: Sherlock accepts that he just might want to keep Jack around and Jack begins to break.

Lestrade wandered the halls near the lab. A few cases had popped up this week. Two addicts had been found dead and a women had walked into her house to find her husband dead, gun shot to the shoulder. After a few weeks of no activity the sudden flux was leaving him feeling strained but happy to be active at the least. Molly wanted to show him her finding and he figured he would stop by Jack's lab before he left. He knew she listened to loud music while working but he was not prepared for the sheer volume. He ignored his lab tech and the consulting detective to switch off the noise.  
"Hey" she yelled, even Sherlock looked up in surprise.  
"You're going to lose your hearing like that"  
"What was that?" She asked  
"I said you're going to"  
"Lestrade if you can not tell she is poking fun at your previous statement then I will lose hope in the safety of England."Sherlock interrupted but both the inspector and Jack laughed.  
"Cool it scarecrow" she warned moving to meet Lestrade as he thumbed through her notes.  
"What do you need boss man?"  
"Anything on out corpses?" He asked as he handed back the papers. Jack dropped into the swivel chair she had stolen from Molly's office.  
"Both druggies died of over dose. Blood levels show they took in normal amount of cocain but the purity was to high for their systems. I would say we may see a few more like these in the next few days if this is the new stock on the streets."Lestrade scowled.

" I will let narcotics know to keep an eye out. Maybe even spread word on the street if you think this will be serious." Jack swiveled around in the chair, her hair in two very high pig tails danced around her face as she moved along with her ever present feather.  
"And the other one then, Matthew Sanders?"  
"Oh, he was a treat" She looked a bit to happy now. Her green eyes glinted under the red and gold painted across her lids. Sherlock huffed at them.  
"He was an OD as well, toxic screen shows he had cocain from the same batch as our druggies he got split open next to yesterday" Lestrade grimace at the imagery.  
"Then how the hell did he end up shot?"  
"Molly found it was after he died that he got shot. He had cocain on his face and hands"  
"So he was an addict like the others just with a wife and kids to hide it from?" Lestrade watched her, her smile was mischievous.  
"Nope, different purity. He was taking it recreationally which is what we found outside if him but he has no trace of the stuff that killed him on his skin" She looked more then smug they had a case, a real case now. The DI. sighed and rolled his eyes over to Sherlock who had been for the most part quite. The silver and red glittery head phone hung around his neck.  
"You want in on this one then?" He asked the dark haired man. Sherlock looked between the two of them seeming to consider the offer.  
"If you feel I am needed" he didn't seem all that excited in the case but if Jack understood his grading system though she wasn't entirely sure she did this had to be at least a seven. Sherlock looked back at the chemicals in small cylinders in front of him as he was measuring them all out for testing. Lestrade looked back to his tech and she shrugged before turning her back on him to kick back on her music but keeping it quitter. Lestrade left to head over to narcotics. Jack left her chair to stand near the consulting detective.  
"You know much about drugs?" Sherlock stiffened beside her.  
"A bit" he answered tightly.  
"Ok then, this needs to work" She grabbed either side of his face and dragged him suddenly to her kissing him square on the lips, it was over in a second but Sherlock felt like his mind was somewhere between in overdrive and for the first time since his first hit, blank. He couldn't find his tongue to form the sentences.  
"While I have your attention this shit needs to stop mop top. John thinks if I leave you be you will stop trying to push me away and get over this thing you have going on the sentiment is worthless, I'm better on my own, and I can't feel crap but I need that brain of yours running at full thrusters so we need to work this out now. I do need your help on this case instinct is telling me this one is going to get weird, your brand of weird so I need you. I told you once I don't have friends well now I do and believe me I don't want them but I have them and I cope with that but if I can be forced to have friends so can you. John said you would be trying to protect me because you think when people get close to you it puts them in danger" She tilted her head to the side in thought.  
"Well maybe it does but if working with you to save a lot of people means sometimes my life may get a bit more uncomfortable then I will manage. Got it?" She had not released his face yet from her hands and they felt warm and soft against his cheeks but he tried to ignore that.  
"I can not take you seriously when you have the hair style of a child" his answer was warmer then it had been in weeks.  
"And here I was thinking that dinner out was going to help us on the whole friend thing." She patted his cheeks but finally released him.

"More uncomfortable?" He questioned, she looked at his with a quizzical expression.

"You said your life would be a bit more uncomfortable then is is now meaning there is something in your life that makes you uncomfortable" he saw the pain again in her eyes like when her other side showed.

"Don't we all?" She asked

"I was an addict" Sherlock looked startled by his own admission to her, it was not pertinent to the case but he suddenly felt she should know. Truth had garnered her trust last time and he felt perhaps it could work again. She stopped, mulling over his words.  
"So you know a thing or two about drugs?"  
"A bit" his answer was less dismissive then before.  
"I sing" she smiled at his surprise. He had started to ignore the ache he felt when he couldn't figure her out. He only got the truth from her when she offered it which was rare even before he began to hold her at arms length.  
"When you have the headphones on and I check you are super focused on what ever you are doing I will sometimes sing with my music." She smiled as she offered a piece offering, she motioned to her work station for him to come over and double check her findings.

When Sherlock swept into the flat nearing nine that evening John was already in his dressing gown watching the evening programs. He was more then surprised when Jack followed close behind his flat mate she had not been over to 221b in weeks thanks to Sherlock's recent attitude.  
"So whomever is putting it out onto the streets is doing so selectively?" She asked  
"They used the addicts to test their levels before handing it off to their intended targets." Sherlock dropped into his chair while Jack continued to pace, neither acknowledged the doctor.  
"So are we looking at a serial killer or was this one a once off?" Sherlock looked displeased with her choice of wording but made no comment on it.  
"We won't know unless another body shows up, that's the thing about serial killers you have to wait till they make a mistake" Jack leaned on the back of John's chair running her hand through his short hair as she thought. John flushed pink at the contact and Sherlock looked confused, she never showed herself to be a touchy person. She stayed like that for a few minutes, neither man vocalizing their concerns till suddenly her hand stilled and she looked surprised herself.  
"I, have no idea what that, oh my god John" She looked more embarrassed then they had ever seen her.  
"It is a gesture you consider comforting in stressful times. You consider John close enough to you for contact but this gesture you consider more intimate so perhaps something you did often with your last serious partner and have not felt comfortable enough to since then."  
"Sherlock" John reprimanded sharply and the deductions fell away when he saw her face. She looked mortified.  
"I am sorry" He apologized quickly as she stood and brushed past her into the kitchen to escape what ever had just transpired.  
"So you two are talking agian?" She took a few breaths to steady herself before sitting.  
"Apparently" she muttered finally making eye contact with the man who's scalp she had just molested.  
"Told you he just needed space" John smiled  
"Oh that, no, it wasn't working so I kissed him" she laughed as the man sputtered in shock.  
"I'm sorry, you kissed Sherlock Holmes"  
"Well yeah, to get him to shut up and listen it worked quite well then I talked, he talked, I talked again and now apparently all is forgiven and forgotten, for the most part."  
"Yeah, I'm still stuck on you kissed him" Jack laughed.  
"Did you hit him with a riding crop as well?" John asked as they both rolled with laughter.  
"Should I have?" Jack asked  
"The last women who kissed him did"  
"I will have to keep that in mind" she gave him a saucy wink.  
"So you're working a case then?" He asked once they had settled down a bit.  
"Yeah, someone's selling drugs that kill" John sobered up completely at that.  
"You know he use to" his words tapered off when she nodded.  
"He told me" she looked to the kitchen where she could hear him working, obviously choosing to ignore the two in the sitting room.  
"Jack" Sherlock didn't look up but called the women over to join him in his mini lab. She smiled to John as she left knowing even when only in the next room she would most likely not see him agian that night. John frowned when she was turned away, her smile was not reaching her eyes anymore.

Sherlock watched as Molly pulled the blood samples as well as the liver and kidneys for him and Jack to test.  
"You have a new boyfriend. He plans to take you out this evening but you are unsure if you will make it because of work but you have not yet told him, still holding out hope Molly Hooper. Domesticity fits you well." he smirked.  
"Keep an eye on her tonight Sherlock" Molly ignored his deductions, they were all true.  
"Why would another night in the lab be any different then all the others?"  
"She just doesn't seem right. Like when she smiles she is not really smiling" Sherlock looked confused by Molly's words.  
"She has helped you a lot has she not" Sherlock asked moving closer to the pathologist. She still looked down but she didn't cower or stutter like she once had.  
"Yeah, she has"  
"I will look out for her" he promised. He took the samples and went to the lab finding her already bobbing to her music as she loaded the mass spectrometer. She had her hair in her usual ridiculous bun, pens already pushed into it with a dark purple, tight fitting top over black skinny jeans covered in varying sized pockets and her favorite boots with gold buckles. When she tuned to face him, holding out his headphones to trade for the blood sample from the latest victim of their killer drug dealer. Her face was painted up as always in plum colored hues and gold accents, her nose stud a deep purple gem. He tried to spot what Molly was seeing but all he could see was she was exhausted, more so then in days before with bags under her eyes, their color hidden beneath the makeup. She seemed to move a bit slower despite the alarming amount of coffee cups that surrounded her. She got to work while he dissected the liver and set up the cassettes to hold the flesh while the analyzed it.  
More often then usual he found himself glancing up to watch the self proclaimed lab jockey. Her movements were different every time, changes in the music dictating how she danced to it he deduced but he could see her energy waning till when it was nearing midnight she was no longer bouncing to the beats. She stood leaning over her scoop, something interesting she had found in the liver sample he had sent over to her. She was leaning heavily in her elbows to support her weight against the table she looked like she was fighting to hold her eyes level and he could make out a rather noticeable tremor in her hands and knees. He suddenly felt Molly may have been onto something before something was off about Jack. As he watched a small drop of blood ran from her nose dripping onto her work surface but she laid it no mind. For a moment Sherlock felt fear surge through him the last time she had bled it was because she was dying.  
He slammed his hand on the table to grab her attention but he had to do so a few times to break her focus when she looked up he gestured to her nose. When she swiped her her arm over the skin and it came back bloody she swore. Sherlock turned down the music and approached her while she pulled out some gauze she had squirreled away in a drawer near by.  
"Are you ok?" He asked cautiously.  
"Yeah, just a nose bleed" Her voice sounded off as she pressed it to her nose and held her head back. Sherlock placed a hand on her shoulder and repositioned her.  
"You will do better with your head between your legs."  
"Not use to hearing those words in that particular order" Jack muttered but Sherlock didn't catch her innuendo. When she didn't faint and the flow of blood tapered off he felt she was no longer in any danger but he could also feel she needed sleep, that this was perhaps brought on by sleepless nights and long work days though it had never occurred to him and they lived under similar schedules.  
"You should go home" he offered.  
"No" she snapped, her venom was surprising and even as the though formed Sherlock knew it would be necessary. She was not going to leave under her own duress so he would have to do something to make her want to leave. He could use inappropriate sexual advances much like Anderson but he was unsure he could do that with enough conviction for her to believe it but she did have a temper and it seemed more then active at the time. It would take little spurring to send her over the edge and she would no doubt storm out when she was done, effective in the short term though he had no doubt there would be repercussions. He stepped into her space using his height over her to seem more over baring.  
"Why are you even here, you have ruined the sample" he grabbed the liver sample her blood had dripped onto and slammed it down next to her.  
"You have botched this investigation" he ran through what he had deduced for her lately she was growing steadily less responsive to John and Molly coupled with her actions with John's hair he deduced it was nearing the time of year she found her last relationship was marred by infidelity and had broken off her engagement.  
"You can't even pull your head out of you ass enough to work. Can't get over some unfortunate emotional trauma no doubt." He sneered and she stepped back pale and shaking more but he didn't let her escape and moved with her.  
"No, the little bitch has to screw up everything, people will die because if you, maybe people have" he wanted her anger but she only grew more pale before finally she snapped and there was a sharp stinging in his cheek.  
"You don't know anything about me Sherlock Holmes" She was mad, madder then he had ever witnessed and he wondered for a moment if he had said something that meant more then he realized.  
"You parade around like some big shot but you're nothing more then a jackass with a big mouth. You don't deserve your friends, you deserve to die on the streets maybe even like these men with a needle in your arm" she was defending herself by using his own previous weaknesses against him he noticed. She was red in the face and the blood dried on her upper lip made her look even more frightening.  
"Maybe you don't even have credentials maybe you just fuck the right people like a common whore to get what you want and make yourself look successful, maybe like you did with Exzander, used him for sexy then throw him away just like you were." She snarled as she shoved his against the table, he grunted as his back struck it painfully but didn't move to stop her. She would run home where she felt safe enough to cry away from anyone's attention, hopefully enough to exhaust herself further and drop off into sleep.  
He wiped a hand down his face feeling the tender skin there. He felt guilt rolling his stomach marketing him feel queazy. He had said some rather horrible things, things to strike at her core and words he considered uncivilized. He would need John's help to fix this, even if he told her of his manipulation she would be unhappy. It was only the second time she had used his name and he found he disliked the situations in which she did so. He returned to 221b the next day to find John preparing to leave.  
"Could exhaustion lead to nose bleeds?" He asked in John's medical opinion.  
"What, why did you have a nose bleed?"  
"No" Sherlock didn't offer any explanation  
"I guess under extreme conditions if coupled with high levels of stress and malnutrition then yeah"  
"Then I fear Jack may need your professional help as a doctor" John paused.  
"What happened Sherlock?"  
"While we worked I noticed she was unsteady in her feet and did not notice the blood on her face till I alerted her to it she was then very snippy in her response to my questioning and refused to leave for rest so I enraged her to the point where she would flee to find solace in her own flat." Sherlock sounded clinical in his answer and John's shoulders sagged.  
"She may need both medical and emotional help from you" Sherlock amended.  
"Yeah, I will, go to the lab with you tomorrow, until then give her space. I know you meant well but you may have really messed her up if she is so stressed she is getting nose bleeds." Sherlock nodded as he laid out in their sofa, his hands steepled beneath his chin in thought. He had intended to think over the case but he was trapped walking through the parts of his mind palace that he stored what he knew and didn't know about Jack. He kept himself glued to the seat to not think about the file with everything he wanted tucked away near by, he and John would fix it tomorrow and then they could solve this case and move on.

What are they going to find in the morning, happy Jack, angry Jack, pepper Jack... Bad joke aside how is it going so far? I found this chapter hard to get through but I pushed on. I don't really like making Sherlock use that kind of language but I think he would I this case to drive hits home, for her own good of course. John to the rescue I when it comes to emotions! So review please and make my day better and better.

-Thieves


	12. Chapter 12

So wow you guys are awesome some many new people following. So this chapter is another hard one for me because I want it to come across the right way so bare with me a bit. You are going to see more of Jack then ever before, not like that, but...never mind. This chapter is meant to be hard hitting and will deal with suicide so bare that in mind. I know it can be a sensitive subject for some along with self harm. Again, you have been warned. Please tell me what you think at the end of this one. Thanks.

ps. This chapter is my baby and I love it and I hope you love it too.

Disclaimer: I still feel ridiculous having to tell you I don't own Sherlock.

Preview: Feels...hopefully.

She stood in front of several test tube as she measured out small portioned of blood to be analyzed by the large machines behind her. Her hair was disheveled, greasy and lopsided she looked raggedy in a ripped and worn loose fitting black shirt, the long sleeves pushed to her elbows with worn jeans and her old combat boots. Her face was not done up only harsh eye liner rimmed her tired blood shot eyes. The skin of her face was blotchy and swollen and her hands still shook. The heavy dark marks under her eyes looked artificial they had grown so heavily black and blue her eyes looking almost sunken into her skull. She looked thinner surrounded by larger clothing her cheeks hollow and the exposed skin of her arms pale pale white with a spider web of green veins viable beneath. Her music was softer, enough so to not need the headphones both men clutched as the entered the next day.  
Jack didn't look up to greet either of them. He focus was absolute in her work, she was throwing herself into this case with reckless abandon towards her health. Even Sherlock could tell her own transport would not last much longer. His plan to anger her into going home seemed to only have half worked as she showed obvious signs of crying but she looked even further exhausted for it. He felt a frown pull at his lips, John beside him looked even more distraught. The doctor had insisted on bringing over the girls favorite meal to entice her to eat, she never passed up the cinnamon rolls from a bakery only a few streets over from the hospital that she spent all her time in but she didn't even seem to register the thickly sweet spicy aroma when he set the box down, the pastry still warm inside.  
"Jack?" John walked to her cautiously as if she was a wounded animal.  
"Jack, talk to me" his tone sounded more military in his order but she still didn't break concentration, her hand jerked with a particularly strong tremor went through her and a few droplets of the dead mans blood dropped onto the surface of her work place wasted.  
"Shit" she swore as she slammed down the pipette she had been using and sighed, there was a hitch in her breath. John smoothed his hand down her back and she stiffened in surprise, quickly pulling away. She looked cornered as her green eyes, slightly glassy looking, flicked between the two men. She ignored John as she went on the attack.  
"Get out" She hissed her fists balled tightly at her sides. Sherlock stayed near the door opening his mouth to speak but she cut him off, uninterested in his words.  
"Get out, get out, get out" She repeated over and over each time her face growing redder, her body shaking harder. Sherlock tried to speak again.  
"GET OUT" she bellowed suddenly, her voice sounded harsh and broken. John jumped his eyes wide as he shook his head to warn off the detective who was making a move to approach the distraught women. What ever this was they had not come prepared to deal with this. She didn't move her chest heaving as she held in what composer she could grasp at right now.  
"Jack please" John tried agian hoping at the least he could calm her even if she wasn't ready to deal with the taller dark haired man just yet.  
"Out" she ordered her voice a low growl with a noticeable tremble. Josh tried to look sympathetic but she didn't need his sympathy so he left pulling Sherlock out with him. They both heard the distinct impact of glass shattering on the door when it shut behind them.  
"We should go to Lestrade" Sherlock's voice was oddly monotone.  
"Yeah maybe he could talk to her, they are close"  
"What, no John the case. If I can not trust that Miss Macotii can keep a level head during an investigation, at least enough so that she will not as I believe she has just done in the rather violent outburst destroyed evidence then I should see to it that she is removed from her current responsibilities" his tone was clinical agian and John looked disgusted with him but he kept the mask in place.  
"You are a machine sometimes Sherlock, she is your friend"  
"She is an over emotional female who has allowed outside stimulus to affect her work performance and disrupt the working habits of other around her"  
"Because of you, Sherlock, because you upset her" John shouted at him.  
"No, in your dull little brain all you can see is what you want to see but I see everything. This is not because I gave her a few harsh criticisms, she is only using that as an excuse to hide what ever secrets she insists on keeping to her self. Well I have decided she is just another ordinary person, she is nothing more then a nuisance now as her usefulness has diminished when she fell into this overly emotional state. I no longer have need of her" John's mouth gaped at his friend, the man he had watched change from the cold, rude man he had met. Granted he was still for the most part cold and rude to everyone but to a few, a very select few he had begun to show his more human side.  
"She is not my friend, I already told you I don't have friends, just the one" Sherlock didn't meet his eyes as he began to walk away.  
"You don't even deserve that" John knew he was being harsh but he couldn't find a reason for the man to suddenly be so detached from the women who was obviously in so much pain. He had seen the fear in the mans eyes when he thought she was dying at his feet but now he was like he had once been.  
"You can pretend Sherlock Holmes, pretend you don't care, that you can't care but I know you and what you are doing now, we don't do that to friends Sherlock" He didn't even pause to John's word. The smaller man was seething his anger flared and he swung at a wall his wanted target no longer in the building. He couldn't go to Jack yet, she wouldn't allow him to see her now and his throbbing fist was a reminder he couldn't be around Sherlock, maybe not for the rest of the day so he slunk down the hallway to see Molly she would have bandaging for his fist and perhaps a reason for what ever was going on. When he couldn't find the pathologist he decided instead to find a pub.

Sherlock walked down the street after stopping by his flat to change into baggy pants and a large, cheap coat he kept for blending into the common wealth when he needed to be under cover. He knew he couldn't go to Lestrade now. The man held to much sentiment for Jack and would no doubt like John put blame on him for her current emotional distress the probability that he would take Sherlock off his current case was to high. He walked the old streets he had frequented when his mind was addled by drugs. He scanned for a man who fit the descriptions they had been give as well as his deductions on him. His name was Jacob Allokaide, a graduate chemist who had been forced out of his position in a upstanding university after allegations that he had raped a student. He had then taken to selling illegal narcotics on the street to fund his sexual habits when no other institutions would take him in, his homeless network had spotted his dealers selling in the areas the two earlier victims had been found. He just needed to catch the man. He would have felt better with John behind him but he had upset him as well so he knew this would have to be like old times, rushing into the danger alone. He phone rang in his pocket and he huffed in agitation.  
"What do you want Mycroft?" He gritted his teeth. The last person he needed right now was his brother.  
"Come now brother mine, not back into old habits are we" His voice was mocking and Sherlock caught the glint of a camera turning his way, no doubt Mycroft's doing.  
"You didn't read the file did you Sherlock"  
"She has been a welcome mystery to solve, wouldn't want to spoil the fun"  
"Sentiment has made you weak brother dearest, and now she is mad, mad enough to keep you from going to the yard for back up, something I would suggest in this particular instance" Sherlock fought to keep the irritation from his voice, staying aloof.  
"And how would you know she is upset?"  
"Ah, ah brother dear, it's all in the file. I wouldn't have upset her so close to the 15th of December. Had you known this would not have been such an issue."  
"What about the 15th, Mycroft, why is that important?" He felt a weight on his chest, that would be the date tomorrow and this was just another mystery he didn't understand about Jack Macotii.  
"Tell me Mycroft" he demanded.  
"I have chosen to alert detective inspector Lestrade to your location and intentions little brother, do bother to not die, You know how that upset Mummy last time." He hung up at those words and Sherlock could still feel the smug expression his brother always wore when he felt he had somehow out shone his brother, when he knew more which Sherlock hated to admit but it was true. He heard a car round the corner and was dejected to find the inspector, Donovan, and their sniffer dog Anderson close behind them.  
The sting was quick Sherlock having already located his base of operation by the help of the homeless network and the samples of dirt that had been found in a shoe mark inside the house of the thirds victim that had not matched neither the man or his wife and had been to large to be from his two children and the times he would be in the building itself by learning his daily routine from his receipts found in the mans coat pockets. Lestrade made a quick arrest while Anderson got to work collecting evidence for Jack to analyze. Lestrade joked about Sherlock needing to help her with the sudden flux in samples she would get, that they would need both geniuses to finish the work in time but the consulting detective had already left them to their work, gone as the night fell to be hidden among the London streets he knew so well.  
"What's gotten into him then?" Lestrade had meant to ask rhetorically but the sergeant answered anyway.  
"Freak probably just wants to get to the bloody lab, we think he's shagging that lab jockey"  
"Jack? You think Sherlock and Jack?" Lestrade let out a bark of laughter at the very absurd notion.  
"Why not, their both psychopaths" Anderson nodded in agreement as he pulled of his gloves and loaded the cars for transport. Lestrade frowned, he knew the women didn't particularly fit well together but he had not noticed so much dissension in his team.  
"I will take the samples yeah" He waved off Anderson, he had not seen the dark haired girl in a few days and he made it a point to try and check in her often enough, with John's help she ate and slept often enough.

When you get off today could we meet up, we need to discuss Jack- JW

Lestrade's phone vibrated and he read the text, he climbed into his car before answering.

Yeah, I was just about to drop by her lab, something wrong then?- GL

He frown deepened when he got a response.

Very-JW

221b?-GL

No, pub just down the street from it-JW

Lestrade was not use to John drinking, not with out it being a night out with the men to watch a game together which they had done occasionally. He pulled the evidence onto a waiting cart to be wheeled down to the lab. When he pushed the doors open the music was soft and he was grateful till he caught sight of his lab tech. She was just as disheveled as when Sherlock had arrived added onto only by the smudges left around her eyes by her disrupted eye liner. Glass crunched beneath his shoes was he walked over to her, several more glass bottle had joined the first she had thrown in her fit but she was back under control with a cool mask hiding any inner turmoil.  
"uh, Jack I have the samples for the serial drug overdose case raid" She nodded in acknowledgement.  
"Jack if you need to talk I could"  
"Thank you detective inspector" her tone was clipped and the metaphorical door was slammed in his face at his attempts so he left, texting John quickly and grabbing a cab to meet him.

Lestrade arrived at work at 6:32 the next morning, he and John had agreed on quite a few things. Jack had something going in her life, something she was struggling with but this, this couldn't just be because of Sherlock and that tonight no matter what her reasons they would force her home to sleep and eat and if she could to talk but their plans could not include the consulting detective, not yet as his very presence was making her a bit violent lately. But he spotted the flashing red light on his desk phone, a voice mail.  
"Detective inspector Lestrade this is Miss Macotii I am calling to give you warning that I will not be attending work for the next few days as I currently feel unwell, I will return when I have restored myself to full health" There was nothing else to the message, no explanation. He sighed, at least she was taking care of herself.

Sherlock did not return to his flat that night instead walking the familiar streets. He was not avoiding John, or Lestrade, and he was most certainly not avoiding Jack he told himself over and over. He was avoiding the file still sealed beneath his sock index. He had made a pact with Jack over her secrets and his need to suss them out that she would tell him but they would come slowly over time not in his usual rapid fire readings and he had agreed to look, to read everything his brother seemed to think he needed to read out on neatly printed pages would upset her, it would be his betrayal to her. No words would sooth that burn so he walked moving in the opposite direction when ever he found his wanderings leading him back towards Baker Street till morning broke and he found himself in front of St. Bartholomew's. He would fix what ever he had broken between them.  
He walked the hallways to the lab, the hallways were quite and in his opinion far to quite even when her music was turned down it could be heard above everything else around. He pushed the doors open and the lab was not just quite but darkened and empty. He scanned the room like he would a crime scene and what he found made his chest tighten, he ran through the hallways pushing past people and rushed a cabbie to get him to the yard.

"So she called in?" John asked over the phone with the DI.  
"Yeah, said she was sick, needed some time off"  
"Huh, not really like her" John seemed unsure.  
"Doctor take it as a sign all that lecturing at the two of them finally got through to one of them at the least" John tried to smile.  
"Yeah I guess" Sherlock burst into Lestrade's office coat tailed flapping wildly behind him.  
"Oi, you're just the man I needed to see" He hung up with John quickly to face the curly haired git who had started this whole problem.  
"Not now Gram"  
"Greg" he corrected.  
"Yes, that, not now where is Jack?" He didn't hide his hurry for the information.  
"No, you stay way from her. She is sick and called in so she does not need you nosing about her business."  
"Sick, why would she call in, not go to her lab if she was sick?" he sounded like it was an absurd notion.  
"Because some people like to take a break from all this. I know I bloody need one" he muttered the later part.  
"But not Jack, she's to much like me. We need work, we always need work. Every piece of equipment is accounted for meaning she would be working in her own home lab which is surprisingly lacking due to her constant access to the one in Bart's. The rolls John brought her were left on the table untouched which is more then suspicious for a women who licks the plates every time John brings them by and religiously cleans her work space at the end of each day. Glass shards where left under the desk meaning the cleaning crew were in there last night, Jack always stays to observe them while they clean as to not risk any experiments becoming tainted and direct them when they grow to lazy to complete their work which she obviously did not do but the trash can was thoroughly washed including using a maxima solution of two parts maxima to one part water a solution used only for cleaning human waste products so she was physically sick in her work place but do you think a woman who tried to come to work while she was dying of poisoning or manipulated two coworker into bringing her work just hours after being released after having flat lined twice would willing leave work because of an upset stomach" He was pacing aggressively and Lestrade sighed heavily.  
"Look, if she wants a few sick days because of what ever is going on with her wether she is sick or not I am not going to stop her" Sherlock huffed at his admission.  
"And Sherlock leave her be" he warned before pointing for the man to leave while he got work done, he couldn't focus with the detective moving about the room.

Sherlock didn't listen, this wasn't right he knew there was things he didn't know about Jack's past but Jack herself he understood quite well. She would not just leave work, she would not seek out the boring drool of inactivity. He stood out side her building having finally decided to not listen to John or Lestrade in leaving her to her solitude in the early hours of the evening, the windows of her second story flat were dark save for one that had the occasional flash of soft blue hued light, she was watching her tv in the dark. He crept up slowly and worked to pick the lock of the ground level door open. He knew from past experience she lived above an older couple who weekend out of town so he would not be caught. Moving up the stairs he avoided the forth step which would creek and placed his ear to the door to listen. The sound was unmistakable as harsh wet sobs followed by a noise he new to be scissor being quickly cut. His mind reeled and he could place why both noises would be heard together outside of something harmful his hand shook when he realized he didn't know what to do. If this was her being attacked he could defend her, solve any problem and mystery but this was emotion and he had yet to grasp emotion, another sound of the scissors closing around something and she cried out, he didn't have time to pick the lock so he physical forced it open when he found it locked.  
The flat was dark with only the occasional flashes on the screen in front of her. His vision was impaired by the disorienting light and dark but he could smell alcohol strongly as well as stomach acid and rancid food, and to his dismay he cold smell the metallic odor of blood.  
"I didn't mean to, I didn't want to" she sobbed watching the screen as she clipped another chunk of hair from her head. Black handfuls of it littered her lap and back.  
"They look at me, like I should have known he would do it, like I should have stopped him." Her voice cracked and she lost the ability to speak. Sherlock had crossed the room coming around to face her his eyes wide as he took the scissors from her shaking hands, she let go easily. Some of her hair was still longer moving around her shoulders while other places cut so close to the scalp it didn't cover the the pale skin, blood matted the shortest part where she had scraped the scissors on the skin and more blood dripped onto her shoulder from her ear where she had nicked it in her desperation.  
"Why?" He asked but he want sure what why he was referring to if it was this display, why others looked at her in such a way to cause all this or why she had attacked her long black hair with the sheers.  
"It was the last thing, he liked it long" She murmured as she brushed her fingers through the shortest tufts, her fingers slicking with her blood so he pulled her hands away he had never handled her so delicately but his women was not Jack. He was finally meeting the meek creature she kept locked away. He heard applause behind him so he sat down beside her on the hard floors, close so if need be he could provide physical support should she need it as John seemed to think people often did when distraught, offering it when clients became to teary eyed. Her eyes focused suddenly and locked with the screen unblinking as the dancers she had been watching left the stage and two new ones took their place, one seemed particularly familiar.  
Sherlock drew in a sharp breath when he identified Jack easily. Her hair was not the false black but a rich brown pulled back into a slick clean knot at the back of her head. Her face was youthful and tastefully done in natural tones and she wore a tight fitting back lace leotard paired with a emerald green flowy skirt that brushed her knees. Her smile was startling, genuine and full as she set stage with her partner. A man slightly taller then her in a dark green shirt and tight fitting black pants. His hair matched hers in color and his face was strikingly familiar. The music started with soft strokes of a piano and Sherlock could only watch hypnotized by their movements together.

Say something, I'm giving up on you.  
I'll be the one, if you want me to.  
Anywhere I would've followed you.  
Say something, I'm giving up on you.

Beside him Jack's breathing was still ragged as her hands rested over her heart and she couldn't look away.

And I am feeling so small.  
It was over my head  
I know nothing at all.

On the screen the partners moved together in sweeping movements they pulled and pushed in perfect synchronization.

And I will stumble and fall.  
I'm still learning to love  
Just starting to crawl.

Jack dragged her fingers across the skin of her chest to try desperately to alleviate the throb of her heart by creating a sting to her flesh. Though she thought no more could come fresh tears dripped down her face.

Say something, I'm giving up on you.  
I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you.  
Anywhere I would've followed you.  
Say something, I'm giving up on you.

The dancers moved together now he lifted her, throwing and catching her body and she showed no hesitation he had her absolute trust. Her love for the man she danced beside shown in her face while he looked as if he could not fake the kind of sadness he was feeling.

And I will swallow my pride.  
You're the one that I love  
And I'm saying goodbye.

Sherlock broke his gaze for a moment to watch the girl beside him cry, studying her features carefully. Comparing them to the girl on the screen. She looked ten years older but the time stamp was only five years ago. The man had the same eye shape, the same sharp nose and pointed chin A very similar gait and muscular structure to her.

Say something, I'm giving up on you.  
And I'm sorry that I couldn't get to you.  
And anywhere I would've followed you. Oh-oh-oh-oh  
Say something, I'm giving up on you.

The man and women pouring their souls into their dance moved away from each other suddenly, the separation from familiar arms seemed to affect them both physically like it was painful to be apart. Their movements spoke to the pain.

Say something, I'm giving up on you.  
Say something...

They walked off the stage in opposite directions, leaving to not come back together again. The girl looked as professional as ever the play of emotions she had been using dropped away with the music but the males sadness did not. Sherlock found the remote brushing away the hair that had fallen onto it and paused it once both had full exited the stage. He said nothing as he stood and leaving only to return with a glass of water which he placed beside her before sitting back down at her side. Her sobs had returned and he sat in a stoic vigil over her not touching but a strong prescience the only comfort he could think to give. Her sobs fell away slowly and she sipped the water still not looking his way in the darkness of the room she could pretend she was alone.  
"They all acted like I should have known. That I could have stopped him some how but I was so blind, so stupid" she slammed her fists into the ground and Sherlock hoped he didn't hear the crack of bone.  
"I couldn't go back, couldn't let them see me and know they were seeing both of us. I couldn't dance again, it was, it was what we did together and I, I couldn't do it alone." Tears still fell but her voice was low and steady the words now started flowed slowly.  
"Your right, I ran. I wasn't strong enough to face them, to face anything we had done together. I started with chemistry because even in high school I had a knack for it but Garrath" her voice hitched on his name but she continued.  
"Garrath was never very good and we did every thing together so it was the only thing I had left when he left me. I was to much of a coward to follow him." She whispered her last words and Sherlock suddenly spun to face her pulling her face up her eyes forced to look into his. His action would leave bruises he had been so rough but as his deductions fell into place he finally had his answers he finally knew why she never corrected him on his deductions about why she had fled America to find a new home in London, why she had let him some truths but nothing that would lead him to this. Not because she wanted to keep him in the dark but because she couldn't face the truth herself and he couldn't let her think this way.  
"He was your brother, your twin most likely older and three days after that performance he took his life. This would be the five year anniversary of his death but you are not a coward for not taking your life as well" he hissed. She chocked on the sobs as her body went slack and he caught her on his chest where she was clutching desperately at the fabric of his while button down. He stiffened but she didn't care how he reacted she was not in control as sobs ripped from her throat he carefully placed her arms around her back, she pulled into the contact instead of moving away. He would get no more answers from her so he did as his mother once had and ran his fingers in circles up and down her back till the weeks worth of exhaustion and years of emotional trauma caused her to slip into a fitful sleep. He moved her carefully onto the sofa they leaned against and found the floor where she had been sitting, apparently for hours was slick, he moved a pen light out of his pocket to find blood on the floor scanning her till he found deep cuts on her feet a few feet away a broken glass near a puddle of vomit, a few shards still imbedded in the flesh on the underside of her feet and knees when she had fallen, her stomach heaving.  
She was wearing the same clothing as the day before now covering in blood and her own sick. The found a wash cloth and wiped her face and neck softly to remove the mess a bit, this was not a situation he should have been sent to deal with. He hid away in her bedroom collecting a small blanket while he called John.  
"Sherlock, I really don't want to talk to you right now" John always answered when he called understanding the significance of a phone call from Sherlock even when he was furious with the man.  
"I need you to come to Jack's. Bring your kit please" He sounded tired.  
"What's going on Sherlock?"John worried as he began to move through the flat.  
"I believe Jack is in a great deal of pain and I do not know that I am able to fix it"  
"Does she need the hospital?" His heart raced but Sherlock didn't sound that kind of worried, he sounded almost pained that he couldn't help.  
"I, I do not think it is that kind of pain" John stopped moving for a moment  
"Before you come I do need a favor of you John, beneath my sock index there is a sealed file, I will need it" Sherlock hung up and stood over the sleeping form of his friend, she whimpered in pain even while unconscious and the sound gutted him. This was her pain, so deep even sleep could not escape it and it was not something he could solve. She was not a case or and equation or a substance to identify. She was raw emotion right now and he was a sociopath.  
John entered her flat and went to flick on the lights but a hand grasped his wrist to stop him.  
"She has not slept in eight days due to her emotional condition and nightmares judging by the state of her sheets and mental acuity yesterday at the time I think it would be best if we allowed her to sleep her wounds are superficial for the most part and can be tended to when she wakes"John met Sherlock's eye and nodded in agreement.  
"Do you know if she ate?" The doctor spoke softly.  
"She has not, added to the fact that I have found three instances in which she has emptied the contents of her stomach she has no food left in her system."  
"Sherlock what the hell happened here?" Through the darkness John found a chair and dropped into it heavily. The detective thought for a moment before answering.  
" She has carried a very heavy secret and today it became something she could no longer bare" John swallowed and the men watched over their friend together, the light of the tv giving her worn features shadows while her breath hitched when she took in to deep a breath. John remembered the file and set it on the table between them.  
"Its about her isn't it?" He asked and Sherlock hummed in confirmation.  
"Mycroft gave it to me some time ago"  
"And you didn't read it?" Sherlock only rose a brow at the obvious answer by the sealed edges.  
"Jesus Sherlock, can we help her?" Even John felt unsure of how to deal with this. He had seen war, he had saved lives and at times he had taken them but this girl was broken he had once had a psychosomatic limp because he missed the war could he really be much help when he had only been fixed by diving back into one with Sherlock.  
"You can fix this" John amended watching Sherlock stare down the file as if it offended him. He humphed at John's words.  
"Why would you assume that?"  
"Because you fixed me" John smiled and Sherlock looked floored for a moment before breaking eye contact when the both turned to the sound of Jack stirring in her sleep. They didn't speak again as Sherlock pulled the file closer and ran a slime knife down each edge slitting the seals open.

I, I don't know what you thought of that but, I, I don't know what just happened when I wrote this. terrible things are going on in my life, not like this, but terrible all the same and I tried to push that into what I was writing. This is the truth behind Jack's secrets, her inability to open up, not wanting friends. Her brother was her only, and closest friend and he took his own life. Next chapter will be a bit different but will tell you everything you need to know, her name included. The song that inspired this chapter was Say Something by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera. Can she start to heal, how can Sherlock help, am I any good at this? And more questions to be answered next time. Last chance to guess her name! Let me know.

-Theives

P.s. Welcome to all the new follower! Thanks so much and thank you Rose 1324 for the fav, that means a great deal. As always Littlebirdd you and me from the beginning!


	13. The File

So this chapter will be different. This is the answers all the weird little things hiding behind double meanings and such. This is the file. Everything Mycroft complied on Jack...you finally really get to meet her, to learn her name. There will be no plot to this part as far as I have planned. So here we go the truth first in this in format. You get Jack's telling of it later.

p.s. When I add my p.s. Note it is me going in right before I publish to talk to you guys, I wrote these chapters several days in advance but I really want to thank SH ships Sherlock and mind maze, your words really touched me and I can not thank you enough for your kindness. I just finished the next chapter just for you guys and your encouragement.

Disclaimer: do you guys honestly read these because I just use them to put down nonsense that makes me laugh instead of saying it in a professional manner but what ever, I don't own this stuff so there.

Preview: The file

Birth certificate

Name: Sorrena Celeste Macotii

Date and time: 11:47 pm 07/25/1987

Mother: Karren Lee Macotii

Father: Salvatori Trentino Macotii

Place of birth: Central Hospital, West Palm Beach Florida USA

Registration number: 3728194638

Note: Twin Brother born 11:22pm, check records under Garrathin Piccolitii Macotii

Vaccination records for: Sorrena C. Macotii

Hep B.-X  
Hep A-X  
Influenza-X  
Measles-X  
Varicella-X

Elementary School Records Sun Dance Children's Academy

First Grade: A average  
Second Grade: A average  
Third Grade: Above A average  
Forth Grade: Skipped due to academic achievement  
Fifth Grade: Above A average  
-Note: guidance councilor asked to step into for emotional stability review after grade jump. Councilor noted over all anti social behavior with the  
exception of in the presence of brother who was also evaluated for grade  
jump. Both recommended for extra circular activities to increase social  
interaction.

Middle School Transcripts. Florida Public School System

Sixth Grade: Above A average  
Seventh Grade: Above A average  
Eight Grade: A average  
- Teacher notes from Sally Cannon, programs coordinator for performing arts,  
theater, dance, piano, and vocal instructor to S. Macotii.  
In my personal opinion Miss Macotii shows the potential for a professional performer with dedication to both her studies and her art. She is truly a Jack of all trades mastering each new skill presented to her with gusto. She picks up new choreography faster then any other and replicates perfectly only to then help her fellow class mates along side her brother. She is principle Alto in our schools choir assistant instructor in my beginning and intermediate piano courses and has been chosen for lead roll in every school play she has auditioned for. She delegates her time well and is punctual nearly to a fault often arriving hours before call times. She and her brother are a pleasure to teach and watch grow. I often find myself searching the performing arts building each nigh to ensure the Macotii's have indeed left, they would work themselves nonstop if given the option. In my profession opinion as a former performer myself and as an instructor for the last twenty two years it would be in your institutions best interests to accept them both there have never been better.  
- Sally Cannon (352) 331-1080  
- letter of recommendation for Lancasters Academy of the Performing Arts

Second Letter of recommendation for S. Macotii

When Sorrena and Garrathin first came to me they were such scrawny little things. They had skipped the forth grade together due to academic achievement and their councilors feared they were not interacting well enough with the other children, requested the begin an activity outside of the class room. They had tried a few other things, sports and such but when Rena and Garrath walked into my studio their mother said their eyes got bright and they were so excited they didn't talk about anything else for day before their first lesson. I still remember the first lesson, Rena watching everything once and just like that she is off doing it on her own. Loves to figure things out and Garrath is right there beside her. They advanced so quickly I stepped them up a few classes in the first few months they learn so very quickly that by the end of their first year I spoke with their parents to let them start taking private classes and competing. They always seemed to be underfoot always rehearsing together making each other better, encouraging each other. I stated letting them sit in on my other classes to learn the other styles ballet, lyrical, modern, tap, hip hop, jazz it didn't matter they just soaked it all up. Their technique however never falters even as they move through the different styles. They are so very dedicated to their art. I was the one who suggested they look into your schools programs. I know Rena has a knack for anything she picks up while her twin is very focused in dance but they both bring so much vibrance, so much passion to their work. It does not seem like it has only been a few years with them under my tutelage as they surpassed quite a few of my longer term dancers but the real magic in their performances began when they started competing with duets with each other as partners. The pairing in so natural since the day of their birth they have done everything together and I can not imagine a world where they could function apart from each other. To by pass these performers would be a waste of such raw talent. I once taught at your school many years ago and even in my time there I never saw anything like Rena and Garrath Macotii.  
Evelyn Boteem  
EHB School Of Dance

INTERVIEW NOTES FROM S. MACOTII

I: Why do you want to go to our school?  
SM: Because we love to dance, to perform, to be that person that everyone is watching. To change how people are feeling or thinking by singing or moving a certain way. It's fun and I would dance every moment if I could, surround myself with music till there was nothing but me, my brother and music. Plus I already spend every waking moment rehearsing I would love for that to stand for something and I love what this school creates.

I: If accept will you be able to meet the demands we put on our students?  
SM: I don't think it would be that far off from what I already do now, actually it might be easier. I mean I always get kicked out of places and told to go home and stop working but that would be so much easier if I lived where I rehearsed.

I: What is your greatest weakness and why?  
SM: Well, I would say that would be, people I guess. I don't know, when I'm on stage I can make people smile and laugh and understand what I'm feeling and thinking and I can pick the perfect song for every situation. I can swing from the ceiling by silks or straps but with people, I just never communicate well with them like that when I'm face to face. I think that's my greatest weakness because I don't think people really know me until they see me dance and until then they just think I'm some sorta weird dance science nerd.

I: I see you did well in Chemistry, you tested very high in all the sciences in fact, have you ever considered that for your future?  
SM: Um no, not really  
I: Why not?  
SM: Garrath is really terrible at it, I mean like really bad at chemistry. It's fun and all and really cool but dance is like nothing else and I get to do it with my brother, I couldn't dream of anything better.

I: What if you received acceptance and your brother did not?  
SM: Then I wouldn't come, my brother and I are one, I could never imagine life with out him, I don't think I could survive with out him.

I: Thank you Miss Macotii, I would just like to say I saw your duet in Orlando, simply amazing.  
SM: Thanks, should I send in Garrath?  
I: Please do.

Lancasters Academy of the Performing Arts

Congratulations Sorrena Macotii, we are pleased to inform you you and your brother have been accepted into the Lancasters Academy of the Performing Arts. Based on your academic achievement, letters of recommendation, interview, and audition. You will be registered for the freshman class. You have also been selected as a student of the highest regard to be allowed a full ride scholarship based on your performance bases and multi talent status. Registration for class will be sent in the next correspondence along with living arrangements for dorm rooms and required materials. We look forward to your arrival in the fall and again we congratulate you both.  
Dorrian Lancaster  
Headmaster

NEWSPAPER

Sorrena Macotii (16) and her twin brother Garrathin Macotii (16) are preparing to head to Dayton, Ohio this week to compete it the 28th annual Dance finals after placing first with their duet. This brother sister pair from West Palm Beach have been attending Lancasters Academy of the Performing Arts for only a year. The school has been producing stars in the entertainment world for years, students attend normal school class while also being being trained by some of the industries best where both were accept with full ride scholarships. After their win I was able to get a few words from the pair. When asked how the prepare for competition Sorrena admitted they don't do much. "We already practice all the time so we couldn't really step that up. We just work really well together, I mean I shared a womb with this guy for nine months, it changes people" ever the joker Sorrena later added that her brother was her greatest support and she his. "Rena is amazing, she actual just got the name Jack from one of our instructors because one of our teachers use to call her a Jack of all trades, she can literally do anything" playful shoving aside these two kids are a great example of people using their talents, we certainly wish them the best of luck in Dayton and further.  
- Carrol Marrow, The Sunshine News published June 19th 2003

PRIVATE MEDICAL INFORMATION

Patient: Sorrena Celeste Macotii

Symptoms: Extreme abdominal pain restricted movement inhibiting daily routine.

Diagnoses: Sever ovarian cyst dominating 90% of right ovary and 30% left ovary.

Treatment: Surgery to be performed 02/08/2004

Surgery Note: Once in surgery severity of activity was discovered, 100% of right ovary removed.  
Higher severity then anticipated in left ovary, 70% of left ovary removed.

Release: 07/08/2004- prescribed pain killers and antibiotics as needed.

ARTICLE TAKEN FROM DANCE JOURNAL

This years featured rising star, or should we say stars are the Macotii twins. After placing Gold again at the world championships last year they return again now 18 and seniors at Lancasters Academy of the Performing Arts will be competing one last time in the under college level division together in a duet. After starting to dance later then most when starting the sixth grade the fraternal twins found their rhythm when they initial paired in their first duet two years after they started dancing and have not broken apart since then. When we spoke to some former judges who have seen the twins performances through the years we found nothing but praise.  
"They have such chemistry, they move so well together and their love and respect for each other shines in their work. It can be hard to find a good match but they were quite honestly born to dance together"- Martha Akins  
So keep a look out for this years featured stars, we wish the best to the Macotii twins.

DIPLOMA  
CERTIFICATE OF GRADUATION PRESENTED TO SORRENA CELESTE MACOTII

Lancastors Academy of the Performing Arts

THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL

Congratulations Miss Sorrena Macotii, you have been accepted into our institution under the study of Dance as well as a secondary major in Vocal Performance. We look forward to having you. The rest of your introductory materials will arrive in a packet containing the date of your your orientation and the start of fall term. Thank you.

CERTIFICATE OF GRADUATION FROM THE JUILLIARD SCHOOL  
DEGREE IN DANCE PERFORMANCE AND VOCAL PERFORMANCE  
PRESENTED TO SORRENA CELESTE MACOTII

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

Today we morn the loss of a young soul Garrathin Piccolitii Macotii of West Palm Beach Florida, a recent graduate of The Juilliard School with a successful degree in Dance Performance was found dead in his apartment after ingesting a large quantity of sleeping pills was confirmed as a suicide this morning after the the autopsy was completed. Family have refused interview but we were able to speak with a former instructor who admits the boy always had trouble fitting in with his peers and spent much of time in the company of his twin sister who discovered his body early Tuesday morning December 15th. Both siblings attended Lancasters Academy of the Performing Arts before graduating top of their class and being accept into the prestigious performance school in New York where they lived together for four years. Garrathin was only 22.

PRIVATE: EVIDENCE IN CASE # 9334- G. Macotii (deceased)- note found inside left pocket of blue jeans on body.

I'm sorry. I have tried so hard to be happy. These last few years I have thought long and hard about this and every time I think about it I feel like I don't want this life but what more do I have. I was only ever good at dance. Every part of my life has gone to it and I reached the highest levels but there is nothing left. I have written this letter a few times over the years. I would think about what I had to look forward to in the years to come and then burn it but I did that last week and I couldn't think of one thing, not one thing I had left to look forward to. I know we don't talk about it, the reason we always stayed away from all the others my little bird, my wren, my Rena even if to everyone else you have become Jack. We were the freaks. I loved being on stage because dance was my language but no one heard my cries. The names, the words, the accusations of incest and disgrace, I can't do that anymore but I am nothing with out Rena. I tried without her once, auditioned as a soloist, I didn't even make call backs. I have done everything to shield my sister from this, to hide it from her. Rena, this is not your fault, with out me you can continue on, find a new partner and make your life amazing. My life needs to end so you can be free of me, of the whispers that follow us. I am sorry Rena. Please forgive me.

BRISTOL UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF CHEMISTRY

Miss Macotii we are happy to announce you have been accepted to attend our school under the study of forensic chemistry. We look forward to your arrival this coming spring. Should you require any assistance in your upcoming relocation please feel free to contact us for more instruction. More information will be sent to you shortly regard transfer of credits and course material.

CERTIFICATE OF GRADUATION  
DEGREE OF FORNESIC SCIENCE WITH A FOCUS IN CHEMISTRY ANALYASIS

SORRENA CELESTE MACOTII  
BRISTOL UNIVERSITY OF CHEMISTRY

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPTS WITH COUNCILOR REQUIRED BY NEW SCOTLAND YARD

I: You are American?  
SM: yes, is that a problem?  
I: I don't see why it would be.

I: Do you feel you are prepared to face what you will be placed in front of you?  
SM: Yes, I have never had a problem with death, people die.

I: You lost a very close family member?  
SM: yes, my brother committed suicide, that has nothing to do with me doing my work. I completed my degree ahead of schedule and his death had no effect on that I don't see why it would matter here.

I: You don't like talking about your brother?  
SM: No

I: You graduated top of your class with top honors, high recommendations your professor pushed for you to apply for this position. The men who pushed your application through are well respected in this field and their opinions are not ignored.  
SM: They did, they felt I would fit the bill well and did not wish to see me sit around the labs when it could be doing something good with my degree.

I: You chose to not go by your name?  
SM: Jack has been my name for years, I still don't see that as a problem.

I: You also have a degree in dance from Juilliard, do you still dance?  
SM: No

I: If given this post given this post you will report to Detective Inspector Lestrade in the homicide devision. Will you be able to dress professional, complete your duties accordingly and follow direct orders given by your superiors?  
SM: Yes

I: We will be in contact soon with our decision.

Sherlock, after several review boards many are still on the fence about miss Macotii's value. She shows all the markers for someone suffering mental and emotional distress. Short answers, deflecting, and sarcasm as a defense mechanism even physical violence when pressed but her skill has out weighed these issues for now. It is ill advised for you to befriend her as she will only bring an element of chaos to your life that is unnecessary. Wipe your hands clean of this girl while you still can and do not become involved. Sentiment is a chemical defect and she is by far more defected then a team of psychiatrists could handle let alone a former junkie detective and his army doctor blogger who suffers from war withdrawal. I have elected to not intercede with Miss Macotii as the yard need her to be relatively stable and I wouldn't want to scare her. Couldn't have that could we brother dearest. Heed my words on this Sherlock, do not become involved with this girl as she could very well be your undoing.  
-Mycroft

Ok, a few things. One I have the worst headache ever after writing this chapter. I did not like writing it, it was so hard and I tried to do some research so it's a little right, maybe. Anyways. These are the secrets, the answers that have been locked away in Sherlock's dresser for so long. The answer to what's wrong with Jack and next time we hear it from the girl herself. I love Mycroft he is honestly my favorite character but he can over baring and frankly sometimes even he gets it wrong. Tell me what ya think on this one please. Thanks. Bye.  
-Thieves


	14. Chapter 14

Ok, so you guys are really amazing, so many new followers and favs but really the reviews have been so inspiring. The things you have said have made me feel great. I need a little pause before this chapter Becuase the file was cold hard fact this needs feeling so I needed to be in the right mind set. You got Jack's name, Sorrena, but the story must go on. So thank you all so so much truly.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, I wanna own somethin but I don't and it's a cross I must bare.

Preview: The story of how Sorrena Macotii died.

The sun had begun its first few hours of accession into the sky when the first stirrings began. Sherlock's unbroken focus noticed it, the faster flutters of her chest the movements as she shifted uncomfortably in her sleep coming closer together and the small noises she called out became more noticeable. Her eyes roved under her lids in the deepest parts of her sleep had stilled and she curled tighter in on her self all the while John rested his head on his crossed arms his back would be stiff from the position he had dropped off into sleep in but his friends focus had been else where and as such so had his worries wandered from the comfort of his army doctor to the tiny broken dancer before him.

When she gasped suddenly and bolted upwards John woke with such a start he moved the table with his chest with a sharp squeal. His eyes raced around the room for the danger but the girl was still trapped in the throughs of her nightmare while Sherlock moved to her grabbing her roughly by the arms and speaking in clear precise sentences.  
"You are safe, can you hear me?" He asked she nodded dumbly.  
"Are you in pain?" He continue with his investigation. His hands drifted up her arms to have his fingertips brush the shortened tufts of hair there now stiff with her dried blood. She seemed to consider his question longer, really considering it but finally nodded no.  
"Go and bathe, when you return John will treat your wounds" she followed the orders with out hesitation. Sherlock had to catch her when she tried to rise only to fall back. He offered her his arm and escorted her to her bathroom. Resting her on the closed seat of her loo while he ran the water to warm Treating her as if she was a china doll.  
"Can you do the rest yourself or will you require assistance?" For a moment he saw Jack again in the withering glare she gave him as he left her to do her own bathing. When he returned to the small dining area John was already unpacking his supplies the two men said nothing to each other while John prepared to treat his patient Sherlock moved swiftly through the flat cleaning where he could the evidence of just how volatile last night had been. Removing the traces of bile and blood from the floor and sweeping her shed locks into the bins along with the soiled blanket she had wrapped herself in and for good measure pocketing the scissors she had hacked away with. Shards of glass joined the hair in the bins as the mess was brushed away. For final measures Sherlock found her music player and as he had heard once before when she had been home sick dying from the poison he had not seen her ingest he scrolled till he found a playlist labeled feeling sick, it appeared she had a list for every mood. Light orchestra played softly as Sherlock returned to his seat.  
They heard the door open and she reappeared now dripping wet with a dark purple robe wrapped tightly around her covering her to her knees. Her hair looked wild with sever layers cut with out cause into it. She had washed away most of the blood in her scalp and hair but with warm water had reopened the deeper wounds on her legs and blood ran in rivets down her skin.  
"Sit" John ordered indicating to the seat across from him and she wilted into the chair slowly, suddenly cautious in his presence. His hands found her leg and with trained precision he lifted into his lap and began to work with tweezers to remove the glass shards that had remained imbedded in the skin. As each was completed he worked in antibiotic cream and bandaged the wounds. Once the right was complete he moved to the left. As each stray piece of glass was removed it dropped into a ceramic bowl beside him with a clink. Two of the larger wounds on her left ankle and shin needed a few stitches each. He gave her fare warning with out a local anesthetic the sutures would hurt but even as the needle pierced her skin she didn't flinch, she was long away deep in her mind, her eyes blank. When her legs had been cared for he moved to inspect her scalp and found it was a shallow wound nothing that wouldn't heal with time. Her swollen wrist came next, he didn't feel an obvious breaks but with the swelling he splinted and wrapped in securely for later investigation.  
The whole treatment took a little over two hours the whole time no words were exchanged as she sat silently and Sherlock observed her just as quietly. As John finished up she began to come around her eyes moved around seeing the evidence of what had been cleaned, of the bandaging spotting her legs and arm a few spots already starting to bleed through a bit by the time John sat back down first putting a glass of water in front of her a single tear had escaped her control and ran down her face.  
"Drink it but slowly" He ordered when she made no moves for the glass. She sipped a few times before setting it back down with trembling hands. Her eyes moved around landing on everything but the consulting detective till the finally stopped on John's hand resting together on the small wooden table in front of him.  
"Sorrena" her eyes flashed to meet the doctors before dropping again.  
"Sorry" John had not quite caught her quite word, her voice still sounded raw.  
"Sorrena, that's my name. You, you have been far kinder to me then you should have been and you at least deserve that truth." John looked at her in awe. She truly believed she wasn't worth nothing after what happened between them. After all the talks and the nights out and the shared nights of frustration over Sherlock. After the drinks and dating advice and awkward moments in compromising situations, she having once walked in on him having sex with a girlfriend and him accidentally finding her mechanical private time little green friend while rummaging through her sock drawer to find her back up iPod when she had called him in desperation after loosing her favorite one at work.  
"How much do you know?" She dropped her chin to her chest pulling her knees tight in as well making herself into a ball her face buried in her knees.  
"Everything" Sherlock responded while in the same moment John answered as well.  
"Nothing" her brows shot up at them and she glanced between the two when she uncoiled a bit. John had refused to read the file on principle that it was Jack's secrets to tell and Sherlock had not spoken out side of answering questions and asking them.  
"You do not have to tell us. My brother provided a file containing the details of your life for me to read over to discourage my friendship with you" Her laugh at that was humorless.  
"And how did that go?" She asked  
"I had not read it until last night when the answers became paramount" she reached out and pulled the file to her, her fingers brushed the paper as she flipped through the pages with disinterest. Till her breath shuddered at the sight of her brothers note. She hesitated at it for moment having every word of it burned into her memory didn't stop the sight of it from being shocking.  
"Then there is nothing for me to say if you already know it all" just as he expected she sounded as if he had betrayed her by stealing her secrets from her with out her knowledge or her permission.  
"But I would rather hear it from you" she finally met his eye and her green orbs swam with mistrust but the seemed to settle a bit under his cool blue gray gaze.  
"I prefer to do my own editing" he offered the smallest smile, the corners of his mouth lifting a fraction as an apology for his transgression and she seems to understand him her chin rising a bit as she sighed. She used a moment to sip the cool water to compose herself, to separate herself from the stories as if it was someone else tale she was to tell.  
"Sorrena Celeste Macotii, that's my real name, it was always Garrathin and his sister Sorrena though. I was younger by less then five minute but that never stopped him from rubbing it in." John watched as she spoke. Her eyes seemed distant again but she wasn't fully detached as before. It was like she was reading the words of a script.  
"When we skipped forth grade everyone was so proud till one teacher said we were too dependent on each other, like it was a bad thing. Next thing we know we are being forced to do all these things, sports, baking classes, scouts, painting classes. It was awful, we never really clicked with the other kids. It was like trying to fit a round peg in a square hole, no matter how much you greased that hole we still didn't quite fit." She stopped for a moment before she could continue. Sherlock saw it would be one of many.  
"Until we tried dance"  
"And you seemed to have succeeded rather well in that endeavor" her muscles moved into something that resembled a smile but it was not a genuine gesture as her eyes didn't leave the spot just to the right of John's head that she had been staring off into since she had started to talk.  
"That's what everyone said. To much talent to waste, we needed to reach our full potential." John looked surprised, not that she noticed. He had never pegged her for a dancer.  
"It's funny. When we started dance it was to get us to play nice with all the other kiddies but when they realized we made such a cute little couple dancing together it was suddenly perfectly ok to not interact with all the other children." Even Sherlock frowned at that. If the intention had been to encourage separation it had been a surprising miscalculation.  
"Me and Garreth, we loved it. We won awards and medals and everything we tried just made sense. When we couldn't make nice on the play ground we could be together in the studio and everyone cheered us on. Me and Garreth against the world since the womb"  
"But it was not always so innocent?" Sherlock guessed and she laughed sardonically.  
"Lancasters Academy of the Performing Arts" she grimaced as if the words rolling off her tongue were sour.  
"Where the real hell began" her tone was still dull  
"We had already been strangers to our peers in our old studio but there we were in even more danger. We had talent but we never had the cut throat attitude like the others. People clawed their way to the top there and found a discomforting amount of joy in destroying anyone who made them feel threatened. The head master encouraged competition among peers and boy did we get it. When we got there I was so excited. To live where you rehearse surrounded by people who loved to dance just as much as we did it was a dream, but I was disillusioned from the start." She pulled a few more sips from the glass and Sherlock scanned her form once more. Her shaking was softer mostly now do to lack of food then her mental anguish.  
"We didn't even know it was coming, we had no way to prepare ourselves. We had grown up with the jealousy that came with being in the spot light, thrusted ahead of the other dancers but at Lancasters it had a whole new feel. They didn't attack our dance, or our technique they attacked us." She shuttered  
"My first crush, Dylan Collens, I tried to talk to him and he looked at me like someone had dipped me in mud, like I was filth. When Garreth found me holed up in my room he didn't know what to do. We did everything together and when I was hurt he blamed himself. It was the first time I feared for him. I found his first note when we were in our second year there. By then we had a pretty thick callus to the words, the looks, the whispers. We had just gotten back from our second world championship. We placed gold beating out a senior duo, it had been their last performance in competition, word had gotten out they had not made it into any of the troops they had auditioned for and they had a major chip about it." She paused to consider her words.  
"When me and Garreth were children and we were scared we would always sleep together, to be wrapped up in my brothers arms was the only time I felt safe for the longest time. And we always ended up sleeping in the same bed the night before competition, it was, well it was like some sort of superstitious ritual for us. We always performed better when we spent the night closer so but we had done it our whole life, we never even thought it wasn't something everyone else did it was just natural." John reached across the table his hand brushed her leg in comfort that even if she wasn't aware they were there they were listening.  
"When we got back to the school, about to start our last year in the living nightmare of a school, our whole career in dance to look forward to when the pictures got out of us cuddled up. The rumors of incest that had flouted in and out for years resurfaced apparently now proven and we became diseased to the rest of the school." Sherlock's eyes widened a bit. He had known children could be mean, he had experienced the wrath of children who didn't understand. The brunt of there words directed often at him but he had simple not considered them relevant but directed at an emotional creature as she seemed to be and her brother who had not doubt been more so it seemed more then cruel. John seemed to share his thoughts.  
"How did not one teacher notice? Who bloody let this happen?" He was tinged red and she pulled out of her stupor a bit to observe him.  
"John, they encouraged competition. This was just another form."  
"No, no that is not competition that is disgusting" she smile sadly.  
"Not in the world I lived in, if you couldn't take the heat you might as let it burn you out. It never really bothered me like it did Garreth. I had him, he was all I had ever had and as far as I was concerned he was all I ever needed but he started wanting to branch out. We tried new partners but all we had to try with was a group of peers who hated us and thought us disgusting." She sighed again and Sherlock recognized the guilt in her expression.  
"I never really tried to make it work. I didn't want a new partner and I never really considered that he just might have. He never told me the things other dancers had been telling him. That I was the only talent, that I had carried him, that he was nothing, that he was worthless with out me and what worse is he believed them." Another tear broke ranks and raced down her cheek.  
"They said he ruined me. That I would never find love, that I would never be happy, that I would end up a second rate has been while I danced beside him instead of finding a better partner. It was his biggest fear. That he would hurt me" she tried to pull in air but her breath wavered and she worked to regain control. John's hand on her leg an anchor while Sherlock sat near by his hands steepled beneath his chin as always in thought.  
"We thought we got away when we got to Juilliard. It wasn't as bad but they made it clear when we started that we couldn't break our partnership. To them we were amazing together but not worth the time of day apart so we stayed strong. I, I started to resent it and I think he knew but I never told him. For twenty years it had just been the two of us. I had never had a first date, or my first kiss and he was the same way but he knew I was the key to his success and he was so scared that I would abandon him that he started to shut down. Our dance started to suffer and we got threatened to be kicked out." She shuddered.  
"I confronted him and it was the first time we ever fought. I knew he had auditioned for a few rolls with out me and I was so mad. I didn't understand why when we were in school I couldn't leave him, I couldn't have my own life but he could, he could try for one. We had just graduated and I screamed at him, I yelled horrible things and I threw things and I stormed out for my morning rehearsal, first one with the New York ballet" She was losing control again but Sherlock knew these were things she needed to say. Now that she had started she couldn't stop or she would be lost forever. He watched her face for the signs of more cracks thankful at the least John would be there to comfort her this time and most likely do a more acceptable job of it.  
"I told him, it was all his fault, he had ruined us, that, that we, I said it, the words, that we might as well be dead if we couldn't dance together anymore" tears finally spilled again and John moved around the table closer but he still held back as she continued.  
"I was going home to talk to him, we had never fought and it left me feeling so dirty, it was so wrong. He was my brother he was my twin, my Garreth and I knew all the ways to hurt him I had used every one of them" Sherlock held his tongue when he nearly spoke to assure her it was natural, one of the few times he recognized the inappropriate timing of his comments.  
"When I got there, I, I" She couldn't get the rest out.  
"You found him dead" Sherlock offered for her. John looked devastated at the admission.  
"His eyes, his eyes were so cold, it was wrong so wrong" She shook with sobs as John fiercely pulled her to his chest. Her body felt small and fragile as she cried into his jumper his hands stroked her head softly.  
"You should have never had to see that" he whispered to her.  
"But it was not your fault" he continued and she suddenly shoved him away jumping back onto her feet.  
"No, it is my fault, if I had said, if I had seen, I could had stopped it. I was selfish, I was a child and I killed my twin brother." She howled in pain and swayed but strong arms wrapped around her pulling her into his thin, lean frame. Sherlock held onto her just as John had until she quitted a bit and he wrangled her back into her chair. Her pulled down her knees and knelt in front of her his eyes catching hers and she found she couldn't look away. His words as always sounded clinical but his meaning was clear.  
"Garrathin Macotii ingested twelve times the lethal dose of Zorrbrathrin. He had a toxic level of 74% in his blood when tested 12 hour after his death after being discovered by his sister when she returned at 9:15 that evening. What does that tell us about the dosage?" John looked appalled at his friends words but she seemed to be understanding at some level because her voice was steadier when she replied.  
"When taken the medication would be quickly dissolved and absorbed into the blood. Consciousness would be lost within three minutes, death within eight. At those levels the dose would have been taken less then an hour after the sister left for rehearsals at 9:45am"

"Did she know his intentions?" Sherlock asked their eyes still not breaking.  
"No" Her answer was a whisper.  
"Did she have any reason to believe her brother was in danger?"  
"She should have known" Her lips trembled.  
"For twenty years a set of fraternal twin worked together believed themselves alone in the world until twenty years later they finally began the process of becoming two separate entities as would have happened had outside sources not encouraged their attachment at a much younger age. The situation would there fore lend itself more to being that of environment on early childhood development." He paused to see the gears turning behind her emerald eyes.  
"I would think about what I had to look forward to in the years to come and then burn it but I did that last week" he quoted her brothers note.  
"Don't" she warned, she knew the words but he didn't stop.  
"But I did that last week. Indicates that previous outside forces already had him in a self destructive mind set before the fight with his sister. The words "I have done everything to shield my sister from this" suggest in the context given that he has attempted to shield her from the words of others but when the sister is questioned you find she was well aware of them, even accustom to them, a fact he would have been well aware of so we would deduce that he is referring to his inner demons then. To shield her from the pain he felt. He was hiding it all, a rather accomplished performer on the world scale this would not have been technically difficult you must also calculate in sentiment, a factor I rarely consider" he shook himself to keep from slipping into his usual deductive mindset to hone in on her.  
"My life needs to end so you can be free of me, of the whispers that follow us. I am sorry Rena. Please forgive me." Tears rolled down her face in thick, heavy drops. He brushed his index finger across one. John suddenly felt the moment had become incredible personal.  
"He held no ill will towards her. He did it to save her in the only way his brain could fathom. It is a common symptom in the clinically depressed. He was untreated and hiding his emotions so expertly his own twin did not see through the facade."  
"He didn't save her, he killed her right along with him" for the first time she sounded bitter towards her brother and Sherlock frowned. She was trying to trade her pain for anger instead.  
"She did not die. She went on to peruse other fields. As he had wished for her she found a new life without him. Away even from the world she had spent a lifetime within she instead found a new passion. One that used her mind to its full capacity, they called her Jack because she could do anything with out really having to try, a Jack of all trades, but she found one, the only one she knew that challenged her instead. That made her want to learn, to forgo others knowledge to discover it all on her own. She didn't just find her own life to live but she found one in which she could save others she was awarded a job because those superior to her saw the raw potential despite her frankly abysmal interview for the position. Every crime solved, answers given to grieving families and criminal locked away because he gave her that chance." John couldn't believe what he was seeing. Sherlock so often used his words to pull down people but with her he was rebuilding it all for her.  
"He gave you a chance and you have not squandered if foolishly yet you refuse to see it. You push away friends until they must force themselves upon you. You are stupider then I thought if even you can not deduce that." And there was the Sherlock John knew so well one part compliment wrapped in an insult.  
"This, what you did here was moronic. Allowing yourself to wallow in the self pity is insulting to your intellect and his memory but what I will not stand for is you believing your death would be a better solution to your problems." She was quite as she thought. In a way only the consulting detective could he had provided her with cold logic, the type of work her mind grasped best and for the first time gave her brain words to process that didn't leave her spiraling into the darkness that she had been the reason Garreth had died.  
The chemist in her recognized that at the quantity taken she could have never saved him in time and the part of her that always respected Sherlock's detective work recognized his deductions on her brothers suicide as reasonable and for the first time in five years the possibility that she was not the reason he had died seemed a real possibility. She had the words I killed him over and over in her own mind so many times trying to drowned them out with loud music, trying to distract herself with her image and even more so her work she felt lighter suddenly. Sherlock left her to think.  
"John she will need food soon"  
"Yeah, yes, she will" John tore his eyes away from the girl who had gone all but catatonic, if it wasn't for seeing Sherlock when he was in his mind palace he might of been more concerned.  
"Sherlock, that, what you said, that was good" John smiled at his friend was warm and full, he was genuinely proud of Sherlock and it made the tall mans chest swell a bit. When the door clicked shut behind John she looked up. Her eyes asked her question for her.  
"He has gone to get you food and when he returns you will eat it." She sighed and Sherlock could already see the changes. Her neck straighter, her shoulders more square, her breathing deeper and more relaxed. She had heard the words she needed to hear and her brain was beginning to accept them. She had spent five years with a festering wound and had finally let the wound breath, she could finally start to heal.  
"He chose the song" she offered and Sherlock looked at her confused.  
"For our last dance, I always chose our music but I let him choose and I was so surprised when he wrote the whole piece. It had always been my job" she was sharing now simply because she, for the first time, felt able to do so.  
"My brother forced me into rehab against my will when he felt my habits had become to destructive" Sherlock offered her a truth in return.  
"And you hate him for it even though that brain of yours knows it was rational, it was constructive to what you have become." She gave her opinion and Sherlock humphed.  
"You are romanticizing my personality much like John. I think I preferred you when you were crying" He complained  
"No, You really didn't" He saw it, the real Sorrena a mix of the broken girl who missed her dead twin and the rough and tuff chemist who took shit from no one Himself included. Her phone rang surprising both of them. She checked the screen but didn't answer.  
"Your mother" Sherlock deduced.  
"She has been calling you since last week ever since you stopped returning her texts three weeks ago." His deduction was spot on.  
"I was wrong" his tone was indifferent.  
"Should I tell John" her teasing was brittle but as was most of her right now.  
"When I first met you I said you were older then you are, I thought your outfit choice was a plea to stay young and I thought the embarrassment of a failed relationship had driven you away from your family" She looked at him and smiled sadly.  
"I never wanted to say the truth I loved pretending anything else was true"  
"Then you have exceptional powers of deception" he commented dryly, no matter what being wrong still left him bitter. She moved to stand again and he moved to help her but she waved him off so he followed her until she stopped him with the door to her bedroom. Returning fully dressed in loose black sweat pants and a tight dark green top her hair in full disarray but she still seemed to not notice. She nestled into the sofa and he sat near her, never touching. She breathed deeply as they sat in silence for a few moments he stared at the dark screen of the tv and she watched him, observing in her own way.  
"Thank you Sherlock" she leaned in and whispered kissing his cheek lightly before settling back down. His chest felt hot and the skin her lips had brushed tingled. He felt himself flush, elevated heart rate, in the reflection from the screen he could see the dilation of his pupils. His body was rebelling against him.  
"Your welcome Sorrena" her breath hitched at the use of her name rolling off his lips. No one had ever said her name like that. His voice deeper as he savored the use of the name that had been hidden from so many for so long. He tried to ignore the stirring in his gut at her reaction to him, to the sound of his own name from her as his eyes turned on her and he read her. Pupils blown wide, he could make out the rapid beat of her heart in the pulse point on her neck but he could still see the sharp edges of her depression in the hollow of her cheeks and the paleness of her skin. When John returned they ate at her table like a proper family each eating their share while the doctor slipped more food onto her plate when she was not looking until her eyes grew heavy and Sherlock carried her to her bed when she drifted off at the table. John left for 221b while Sherlock stayed behind to continue his watch over her.

Ok, so every time I don't think I have much to say I write super long chapters. Well now she can start to heal. Maybe feelings to come. Now that he knows Sorrena maybe she will mean more to him. Do you like her, Jack was a part of who she was, she is still sarcasm and fire but there is still stuff underneath that. I tried to make Sherlock comforting but I don't think he would ever do it in the conventional way so this was my take on that. Tell me what ya think guys and I will heed your words. Thank you again to everyone who has already reviewed and please feel free to do so again.

- Theives


	15. Chapter 15

Ok, starting this one because I can't wait to show you the last one. I am having such fun with this story. We get to move on as we much as you can move on from that pain and see other things start to happen. Who knows where we go from here...well I sorta do but only a little... Anywho I digress, on with the show.

Disclaimer: I have no ownership to the Sherlockian world though my mind drifts there often to find solace from the toils of mediocrity...

Preview: Sorrena starts the road to being reborn and Sherlock fights human nature

Sorrena woke up in her own bed. She felt heavy, the lack of food and water added to the emotional dump the had taken over the last day or so had drained her but there was still a new lightness in her chest that had not been there before. Not since the last time she had truly danced with her brother and they had communicated through their movements, through the touch of an arm, a sweep of a leg or a quick glance, green meeting green. She felt, whole.  
When she managed to pull herself from her warm sheets she found Sherlock sleeping on her sofa. His long legs to long for the short seat dangled over the side, his head rested on a balled up blanket his face was clear of the his mask and he looked more a child then ever with wild curls tangled in his sleep his mouth hanging open slightly as he breathed evenly. She stifled the laugh and made them both coffee which roused him quickly.  
"Morning" she offered him his cup which was prepared the way he liked it.  
"You know how I take my coffee" he observed.  
"Really, that's the first thing you say in the morning after I pour my soul out to you" she quirked an eyebrow. She still felt paper thin but she needed to toughen up. He had given her sound advice and her mind was working quickly to incoperate it into her thought process. She was not at fault, she could do more with her life, he deserved for her to try to heal.  
"John seems to think I should avoid the topic of your emotional fractures and shortcomings as it would upset your fragile psyche so close to mental breakdown the night previous"  
"Yeah, when you put like that" she frowned and sat her mug down while Sherlock internally scolded himself, he had done it wrong.  
"Your hair is a mess" his mind had escaped him. She ran to the bathroom to see he followed quickly.  
"Well, shit" she was pulling at the different lengths testing to see what could be saved.  
"It, it is not bad" he tried to sound convincing both for himself and her but he couldn't seen to reign in his own mouth and he wasn't even showing off.  
"Don't, don't do that" she warned.  
"Don't try to be all nice and shit because you think that's what I want. You are still mop top and I'm still Jack"  
"But you are not" he interrupted  
"You are Sorrena" she paused and turned to him walking slowly towards him he felt his gut flip again when her hands came up to cup his face. He couldn't escape her as they drifted down his body one stopped on his chest while the other fell to his hip before dipping into his pocket and stealing the scissors he had stashed away there. He tried to ignore the feeling of disappointment.  
"Now out, I will meet you at the lab"  
"So soon?" She was confused for a moment by his concern he saw the little scared dancer again for a second.  
"If you stop working do you feel that need to go back to who you were before you got clean" Sherlock didn't answer but she already knew.  
"If I stop I will start becoming more of whomever that was the other night and I want to start becoming who I could have been so I need to keep working until I can figure out how not to go back to that" he nodded and turned to leave when she shut herself away in her bathroom with the scissors.

Sherlock moved quickly showering and redressing before John had finished his first cup of tea.  
"I still think she should spend some time away from the lab. Take care of herself." John complained but he had changed quickly as well to join Sherlock.  
"This is her taking care of herself John, the only way people like us know how."  
"Like us?" John questioned. The only person Sherlock had ever compared himself to was Moriarty but this was different Jack had risen to Sherlock's level in his head and he counted her, apparently an equal.  
"Like her" Sherlock corrected offhandedly and popped his collar before racing down the stairs John smiled at his enthusiasm and followed suit.  
When they got to the lab music was already blaring, Sherlock smirked and John couldn't help but have a full blown smile. She could heal in time and this very well could be that first step. Sherlock had insisted on one detour on their way in to stop for her favorite cinnamon rolls. She was standing behind some equipment with her back to them since she had been expecting them the music was down enough to not need ear protection. Wether she heard the doors closed or smelled the rolls she spun to great them. She was smiling but it was still for the most part faked, she was after all still, grieving but she looked different to. Her hair had all been trimmed away now in a short pixie cut, no strand longer the two or three inches sat flat to her skull save for the front pieces that had been gelled into messy spikes. The lack of thick black tresses left her face more open. Her makeup was not as dark or heavy only traces of black and gold tones and sedated eye liner for accent. Her lips were still red but brighter and her cheeks looked like she was starting to get some of her color back. She was wearing a light black shirt over a gold undershirt that glittered at the top of her favorite black zipper pants and gold buckle boots. She was back to Jack in some ways but very clearly still Sorrena.  
"Mine" she grabbed the rolls and made quick work of one as she dropped into her pilfered rolling chair from Molly's. She swallowed before she had even finished chewing which made Sherlock grimace in disgust.  
"And for you sample of the flammable materials used to start all three of our mysterious arsons" she indicated to Sherlock's work station which was already set up. Her own version of a thank you. John left them to work.

They had been working for several hours when Sherlock looked up and smiled as he watched her work. They had always worked in silence, well relative silence due mostly to her music choices but he found it was not nearly as grating as usual though he recognized several as music he had complained on many occasions about to her. He could not place what had changed about the music to make him less irritated by them, suspecting at first it was due to the change in the volume at which he was listening to them until he found himself watching her again minutes later as she bobbed along to the music. It almost disgusted him more that he was even enjoying the songs because of the simple joy the brought Sorrena.  
"Oil based?" He asked gesturing to the samples when she looked up from her scope.  
"Hm, not that I can tell accelerant burnt to hot for that. Reduced the stuff it was dumped onto to ash in less then an hour. Plus the burn patterns don't match for a liquid propellant." He hummed in agreement and tried to ignore her again. Until he was quite literally thrown from his mind palace by a whole new experience.

The sound was melodic and soft, almost sweet sounding and he realized she was singing. Softly at first but even while in her work she was getting into her performance becoming louder, more confident. He knew from the file she had been a vocal student as well even into her college times and she had admitted she sang often when he had on his ear phone but he had actually heard her and it was just as hypnotizing as her dance. Her voice tapered off at the end of the song and she didn't start again with the next sing, never noticing her awed audience.  
When they reached the end of the day they were confident they had their case figured out and took their finding to Lestrade on Sorrena's insistence while Sherlock argued to go after to culprit themselves.  
"What the hell are you doing working?" Lestrade exclaimed when they bustled into his office Sherlock still pouting that she had shot down his offer for adventure running out to catch the man.  
"If the brother of the first victims wife installs fire suppressant systems arrest him" Sherlock ordered but Lestrade ignored him.  
"Jack you said you were sick, you should be resting" he came around his desk to rest his hand on her shoulder. She looked better but at the same time like she had been dragged to hell and back.  
"I'm fine boss man, I will get a little better every day I think" she didn't explain but for the man it was enough. He surprised the two geniuses when he pulled her into a hug but once the shock wore off she leaned into it and Sherlock tried to not feel the jealousy at their closeness.  
"New hair?" He ruffled the short black hair on the top of her head and she batted his hands a way with a laugh. Sherlock could see the strain on her to play stupid but she holding up well.  
"Same old hair, new Jack I think" they both smiled and turned back to the consulting detective when he cleared his throat Sorrena rolled her eyes.  
"The ignition source on all three fires was a triphotetraleen base in a aerosol dispersal system." Lestrade gave them both a blank stare and Sorrena laughed at her bosses expression.  
"Someone put fire starter in the fire surrpressant system then light a small trash fire. They leave the fire burns till it sets of the alarms triggers the release which sprays the accelerant all over the room introduced to the small flame everything kinda goes boom from there." She explained for him.  
"When the first home was hit the couple were going through a rather nasty divorce when the husbands business was hit. The wife does not have the technical know how. She has the jewelry of a women who is cheating and the legs of a housewife but her brother was there to comfort her before her sister was. Close relationship with her brother, incredibly protective of the youngest female in his family he sought revenge for her. Once it was successful he used the same tactic twice more. Once with the women he once had relations with and then again on her current fiancés place of work. His mistake was sentiment." He smirked, oh he loved showing off.  
"How was sentiment his mistake?" Sorrena asked.  
"It makes you silly little humans make mistakes. Once he would have gotten away with but three times and I had him" Sherlock snapped but he saw the sadness in her eyes and frowned. He would have to continually remind himself just how fragile she currently was.  
"Yeah, great. Sherlock with me then if ya want and Jack"  
"Back to the lab for the rat" she had already turned and left with out her usual wink.

Sherlock watched as they pushed the suspect into the back of Lestrade's squad car. It was technically not his department since there had been no deaths involved in the case but he had asked for the case as soon as Jack had taken it on.  
"What ever is going on between you and Jack, if you hurt her Sherlock" Lestrade warned watching along with Sherlock as his officers finished up with the arrest. The mans sister was screaming while officers held her back.  
"I am certainly not endeavoring to" Sherlock muttered  
"Yeah, just, she means a lot to people. Hell even some of the officers asked about her. She looks" he couldn't seem to find the words.  
"I don't know, sad, tired. Just don't go making it worse for her." Sherlock looked at the silver haired man.  
"How exactly would I go about doing that?" Sherlock was geniounly asking. He knew he had already upset her once and should Lestrade have valid information that could help it seemed reasonable to listen.  
"Look John thinks you don't realize it but even you can't be that stupid" Sherlock looked confused, he had no idea where this was going.  
"You know how you like her and she likes you" Lestrade looked amazed at Sherlock's look.  
"I find her company acceptable and her thought processes often align with my own but I don't see how this is relevant to not upsetting Sorrena further."  
"Sorrena?"  
"It is her name yes" Sherlock was still unsure of how this was suppose to be helping.  
"Yeah ok but why are you using it?" Sherlock rolled her eyes of course Lestrade would have known her name it would be in her employment file after all. Sherlock didn't comment. Lestrade pushed off of the car they both leaned against to stand in front of the dark haired man.  
"Look, the only person you ever seem to listen to to some extent is John. Talk to him about this yeah." Sherlock shrugged when the DI walked away. It was a logical thought, surprising from Scotland Yard but none the less John knew Sorrena well, knew what was happening to her and he knew Sherlock his advice in the area would be helpful.

John sat in his chair and waited for Sherlock's return. He had gotten a warning text from Lestrade but he wasn't exactly sure how to take it. Lestrade seemed to think Sherlock was going to come home and ask dating advice which was frankly ridiculous. He heard the front door shut and the heavy steps of his friend on the stairs.  
"Lestarde contacted you" Sherlock deduced when he came in smirking when John made no attempt to deny it. He changed out of his jacket and into his dressing gown before settling into his own chair across from the doctor.  
"I find that I have very little experience in comforting people let alone a female in such an emotional state"  
"Sherlock I'm not a therapist, I don't know how to help her and her brain works more like yours then mine. What ever you said to her that was good Sherlock so what are you asking me"  
"I do not know" Sherlock was reluctant to admit and John decided to go for broke with this.  
"Why do you care?" He asked Sherlock seriously and was happy that at the least he didn't try to deny that.  
"She is a valuable asset and as I have said once before when in emotional distress her work suffers greatly" he paused, Sorrena's penance for sharing truths with friends as a sign of respect was starting to ware off on him.  
"I also find that her well being is something I find myself concerned for as she, she is a friend to you as well." John smiled.  
"Do you think about her a lot? Do you find yourself watching her, being aware of where she is and what she is doing? Thinking about her when it's not about the case, you know the things she likes and what she doesn't like. Things you use to hate don't seem so bad when she enjoys them" at that Sherlock scowled a bit.  
"When you see her your chest feels tight and you look for ways to make her smile."  
"She is i n the process of recovering from a mental break brought on by the loss of her twin brother who's death she has blamed herself for five years. Seeing her smile is the only way to ensure that she is not having depressive thoughts." John held up his hand to stop the interruption.  
"But you care why she is smiling and it when it's some thing you did it makes you feel happy too and when you upset her you feel guilty"  
"It does not make me feel anything" he huffed like a child.  
"You asked Lestrade for advice" John countered.  
"He offered his advice after threatening me that hardly counts."  
"Look Sherlock this is really simple, use that mind palace of yours figure it out yourself yeah" John left for bed, the consulting detective sat with his hand steepled till his phone chimed.

You coming back to the lab?- SM

I upset you earlier, why?- SH her exit from Lestrade's office still bothered him, he knew he had said something wrong but he wasn't sure what.

Ok, not a conversation for texting darling, try again tomorrow- SM she didn't seem overly upset so he dropped the subject for now.

Eat and drink an average sized meal before you retire for the evening it would be best if you also did not stay out later the 11 this evening to better readjust your sleep patterns after such a trauma- SH

Yes mom- SM she answered sarcastically. He closed his eyes and settled in to think. He moved through every piece of information he had on Sorrena Celeste Macotii. Everything from her file compared to the retelling of the event with her own words. How she dressed based on what events she considered important and what she considered indecent. Her rages and their inductions. Her music choices and favorite terms and phrase, the syntax of her vocal patterns and how she preferred to take her tea. What things upset her and what made her smile. Her deductive reasoning of her own and her technical know how in the forensic and chemistry field. But his mind, so unlike how it would normally be organized as he reviewed the information he had slated away began to wander.  
He saw her agian that first time he had entered her lab and made the mistake of touching her music, her hand on his face covering his mouth had disgusted him but now he found her contact to illicit a more hormonal response from him. He saw her in that green dress dancing among the other men and the sting of jealousy he could barely recognize in himself. He could see her face as she fell and the sound of his name when she had called out for him and it still made his chest tighten in fear as he reran the images of her body on the floor her own blood pooled beside her. He could still remember when she woke and he felt the tension disappear. Each instance he recalled in perfect clarity but instead of having to search for the information his mind seemed to readily supply it and more. The way she brushed her hair out of her face when she was working the way she laid out her work space for optimal time usage And recently the sound of her voice as she sang to herself quietly.  
When John came down the next morning Sherlock had not moved, he went to leave for work but Sherlock stopped him.  
" I can not think of a plausible reason for all of the situations you presented. I do often worry for her and find her well being to effect my own but I don't understand what these deductions mean" he admitted John paused at he door for a moment.  
"You're falling in love Sherlock Holmes, like I said simple" John smiled and left, he couldn't fight off the satisfied smirk, let that great big brain of his mull over that for awhile.

Ok, things will be will be moving slowly for the two. Sorrena is still getting her life on track and Sherlock is Sherlock his brain is going to take a life time to understand this kind of sentiment. He is never going to be normal but neither is Sorrena so let's see how that turns out. Tell me what you think, I love the idea of John perfectly understanding sow thing and Sherlock just having no clue what he is talking about. So talk to me, wait a bit and see how this goes. Thanks guys so so much.

-Thieves


	16. Chapter 16

Ok we are going to time jump a bit here. My reasoning is I don't like reading twenty chapters of building up to one event, which may be evident in this story and how it's built, but also this is not the kind of stuff Sherlock would suddenly be ok with. John thinks he is falling in love or as close to that as Sherlock Holmes can be and that would never happen over night or in a week or a month. I was not crazy about the last chapter but it was necessary I think. So I leave you with this warning, there me be some suggestive themes in this chapter if it pans out the way I want it to so you have been warned. I won't go crazy but, yeah. Also I don't know that this is important to y'all but I always write curled up on my sofa and for some reason whenever I write my kitten (5 months old) freaks out till I let her curl up in my lap where she watches as I write so I'm going to say this story has been coauthored by Ryder the kitten. Ok then, on with the show.

Disclaimer: I once knew a man named Sam, he married a girl named Cam, and the both ate tons of spam, and I own nothing.

Preview: He's gotten on with his life. What life I've been away? ( hint to the time jump there)  
also I try for flash backs and stuff.

Sorrena rolled across the lab bracing her arms to push off the opposite counter then shoving off again to propel herself further till she slowed in front of the second work station and reset the slides while the set of her own work counter set. Fecal collection cups sat full of solution, it would take ten minutes for the particulates to float to the top and adhere to the slide cover pressed over the collection site. In the mean time she could review the samples of colon she had been working on the previous night. Working both station was an exercise in adaptability for the lab tech.  
Her hair had grown back in, falling to just below her shoulder blades and still the harsh black save for a small chunk she had bleached and stained teal to contrast the darkness. Her makeup had never come back in full force but she still kept them guessing with shocking color choices, today's vibrant blue and yellow highlighting. Her jewelry glinted around her ears and in her nose added on around her neck a black ribbon cord with a blue and yellow chunky glass pendant, a gift from John that she had adored. Her yellow high tops and black pants were comfortable with a stretchy royal blue shirt but for once she had thrown on a lab coat to save herself the horror of literally being covered in shit should anything happen with her samples.  
Molly pushed the doors open and smiled at the music still soft enough to handle this early in the morning for the pathologist she waited till Sorrena looked like she was at a good stopping point to draw her attention. When she went to changes slides Molly banged on the table, Sherlock's method always worked best to grab her attention.  
"What are you still doing here?" Molly reprimanded when her dark haired friend looked confused Molly gestured for the clock on the wall. Sorrena swore when she saw the time and quickly stripped out of her coat throwing a backpack on her shoulders and a duffel along with it she ran out before spinning around a bursting back in to kiss the pathologist on the cheek.  
"Shit, thanks Mols, don't let Scarecrow screw up my lab again" she yelled as she ran through the halls nearly falling as she took a corner a bit fast and the weight of her bags threw her off balance but she recovered herself before falling and burst out the front doors franticly flagging a cab. Molly laughed in the lab as she shut down the equipment and packed away the equipment and evidence the girl had left behind in her rush out of the lab. John had texted her the night before begging her to warn Jack of the time and to not let her be late, with he and Sherlock on a case he wouldn't have the chance to. She switched off the music and hit the lights on her way out to the morgue.

John wandered the halls of the house, well more like mansion he had found himself breaking into along with Sherlock. A client had come claiming he believed his staff was burglarizing his home so after firing the whole staff, now living in the home alone his possessions were still disappearing. It had only rated a six but John had all but begged Sherlock, with the help of Mycroft stepping in and threatening the man with a government case if he didn't take the mysterious thief client, to keep the detective busy while Jack was away She had only been gone three days when the boredom started. He had never said anything more about their discussion that night and even though John still believed something was going to come from the two of them it had ended up being to his surprise, and honestly a little bit to his disappointment, a very strong if not strange friendship though he still fully believed the man capable to having romantic feelings he just wasn't sure he knew what to do with them.  
They were trying to move as quietly as possible when his thoughts distracted him and he ended up running into Sherlock's back when the man had stopped. The detective shot him a dirty look before motioning for John to continue on while he stayed in his position. John took a few steps further down looking around, his gun back at 221b he suddenly felt like he needed the protection of it the gigantic darkened hallways.  
"Sherlock what are we going to do of" he turned around and though it shouldn't be surprising the man was already gone leaving John alone in the abandon west wing of the house.  
"No, this is good just leave me, dick head" he grumbled as he cleared the rest of the room the hallway ended in, he had nothing better to do though he had not clue what he was looking for. He had been waiting nearly ten minutes when he heard the muffled sound of what sounded like a scuffle. He listened closely before harshly whispering Sherlock's name when he heard the sound of the man grunting much like he would had he taken a fist to the gut. The doctor almost couldn't trust his sense when he found himself pressing his ears to the wooden panel of the walls where the sounds were stronger until three panels down the dark wood suddenly splintered outward as Sherlock's body came through the wall and his opponent followed behind him.  
The man was of a larger build with a broad chest and thick arms. Meaty hands grabbed the front of Sherlock's coat and hauled him to his feet, neither had notice John watching with a gaping mouth before remembering he should help near by he grabbed a stone statute that was sitting decoratively on a table with a lamp and several expensive looking vases.  
"Oi" he yelled pulling the beast mans attention off the detective and braining the man across the back of the head, he didn't react at all to the stone naked lady being cracked against his skull and John looked a little wide eyed.  
"Hm, yes, well" John backed away slowly while Sherlock quickly scanned the mans body for weakness. Before he could make a move for John Sherlock attacked bringing his hands up and slapping them across his ears to disorient the man who dropped his hands from where the held the dark haired detective to grab his head Sherlock punched into his gut targeting his kidneys to bring the mans head low enough to have the leverage to smash a blow with his elbow into his temple with enough force to render the man unconscious. He brushed the splinters and dust from his favorite coat with a flourish and ruffled his hair a bit John only shook his head at the display.  
"It might be best if we alerted Mr. Donnaly that we have caught his thief" John smiled and couldn't help but chuckle as Sherlock tried to look perfectly coifed with wood splinter clinging to his clothing, his hair in disarray and he lip split and bleeding. When he tried to walk we winced in pain from being thrown through a wall.  
"You alright then?" John asked as Sherlock pulled hand cuffs from his pockets and cuffed the man for extra security.  
"Hm, yes, of course. I had that perfectly handled" Sherlock managed to keep another wince at bay when he straightened up.  
"Of course" John mumbled but Sherlock paid him no mind as their client came bumbling down the corridor looking flustered wrapped in his dressing gown which he had managed to throw on inside out in his haste.  
"Sigar" the man gasped  
"This man is your thief Mr. Donnaly. He has been using the isle ways behind the wall to move through the grounds with out being spotted knowing of their existence from a personal relationship with your previous maid. It would be good time to hire back on your staff. He was working alone selling the articles stolen to raise the funds to marry Miss Cayton, your maid , I would suggest perhaps more respect for your staff " Sherlock smile was large and false as he tried to leave with his usual dignity but it was marred a bit by a limp. John smiled poiltly as he passed the rich paranoid man as well.  
"What should I do with him Mr. Holmes" he squeaked when the monster of a man started to move.  
"Call Scotland Yard Mr. Donnaly" Sherlock called over his shoulder as he left. John found a cab waiting for them at the end of the driveway, Sherlock had called ahead meaning he already knew who did it when we got there.  
"You knew, you knew who did it and you still dragged me out here" John was not exactly pleased, he was missing work for this case.  
"What do want John you insisted I take this case and so I have done as you asked and worked the case, I thought this is what you wanted" Sherlock seemed frustrated.  
"You could have told me you already had this bloody case figured out and wouldn't of had to drive all the way out here in the first place"  
"Of corse I had it solved" Sherlock scoffed, offended.  
"You insisted we come out here and investigate and we did"  
"I wanted you to find a case to keep you from getting bored with Jack out of town the last thing I need is you shooting up the wall again" Sherlock rolled his eyes.  
"I have several current experiments that you insisted I pull away from for this case yet you seem less then pleased with the out come"  
"You skinned a rat and set the kitchen on fire" John exclaimed the driver eyed them wearily.  
"It was for an experiment" Sherlock defended.  
"Any how I don't see what that has to do with Sorrena's absence"  
"Sherlock you spend several hours a day with her" John explained  
"Though apparently you don't do anything but work" he muttered under his breath as an after thought. Sherlock thought back to nearly a year back when he had been between cases after having another falling out with his brother over his continued association with Sorrena he refused to help Mycroft. He had been trapped in the flat for three days boredom had fully set in and after a tense 72 hours John had stormed out after Sherlock had sent another one of his dates away in tears. He couldn't find John's gun anywhere when Sorrena had come through the front door.

Flashback

She came in the front door her hair now brushed her shoulders and most of her jewelry was missing. She was in a tight fitting black tee shirt and exercise pants with flat black shoes which she was quickly toeing out off to stand barefoot. What really caught his attention from where he lay spread out on their sofa his eyes sparked with poorly suppressed curiosity, was a long thin black bag slung over her shoulder. Roughly three feet long and several inches wide, not overly heavy. She pulled it off as he sat up to meet her, she handed it over. Her smile was devious as she pulled her hair up into a high pony tail even her bangs got swept into the mix.  
"Feeling bored mop top?" Sherlock hummed in response  
"John sent you" he ran his fingers over the bag before un zipping it to inspect the contents. Her clothing was athletic but not dance related, only a year from her mental break she was still unprepared to dance with out feeling the remorse but no sweat so she had not yet taken part in the physical activity. She was intending to stay based on her relaxed potion in John's chair and removal of her foot ware. Inside the bag he found two replica swords with rubber grips and guards, the swords edges un sharpened. He gaze her a quizzical glance.  
"I always use to watch action movies with my brother, old timey stuff and all that but the thing that really stuck with me was the sword fighting, I always wanted to learn how" she shrugged relaxed.  
"And you think I know how?" Sherlock was looking over the blades with a critical eye, they were unmarked so had never been used.  
"You spoke to John" he muttered aloud, of course he knew they talked when they went out together and no doubt he was often a subject of choice as Sorrena's areas of interest would make little sense to the army doctor and the man was obsessed with him after all and on the job had witnessed Sherlock's ability with a blade.  
"Why would you want to learn this it would have little use to you" He asked setting them down on the table in front of him.  
"Because I love learning new things" he still looked unconvinced.  
"When you collect knowledge you do it to better your self as a detective, to add to your growing mind palace information you may need in an investigation and deleting everything else" he dipped his head to acknowledge her statement.  
"I love learning to learn, to gain knowledge for the sake of having knowledge. To experience new things, gain new skills. It's fun" she added  
"It's illogical" Sherlock countered.  
"How do you get that?" She asked  
" You have a brilliant mind for chemistry why would you crowd your hard drive with meaningless information like how to properly hold out in a fight with medieval weaponry"  
"I may need it, never know with you and John" she huffed  
"If we were on a case and the situation arose that a fight broke out in which combatants must fight with swords then I will be there to ensure your safety" Sherlock made the whole comment sound off hand but Sorrena laughed.  
"Did you just offer to be my night in shining armor "  
"Perhaps we should begin then" he ignored her laughter and offered her the hilt of a sword. Her smile was genuine and rather dazzling as she jumped off the chair. Sherlock spent several hours teaching her the basics but much like many of the instructors who had preceded him Sorrena learned very quickly Truly he discovered a Jack of all trades. When she made mistakes corrections only be given once before the mistake was never seen again which was lucky for her since Sherlock was an impossible master to serve, his patients low and his teaching techniques questionable.  
When John returned to 221b he could hear music from the doorway but when the sound of breaking glass added in he went racing up the stairs. Sherlock was standing on the sitting room table with Sorrena backed into the corner where she had knocked over a glass. Swords raised and music blaring the two opponents reengaged with the clang of metal. They both had a wild look about them as the dove around the room trading off who was on offense and who was on the defense. Until Sherlock gave a harsh blow to her her ribs which she had left open to attack then coming up and knocking her hand harshly which made her yelp and drop her blade, his own coming up to rest across her throat.  
"Dead" he muttered leaning in close. John cleared his throat from the doorway getting both their attention.  
"The music is a bit much" John had to raise his voice a bit to be heard. Sorrena laughed as she turned it down.  
"Just a fantasy come true " she winked and John flushed red.  
"To sword fight to the music from my favorite pirate movie" She only laughed harder and the pink staining his cheeks and the redness of his ears.  
"I'm off then, till tomorrow captain Holmes." She bowed in respect to her new teacher and tossed her pack over her shoulder and swept out the door. Sherlock returned to his chair pulling his dressing gown back on, the brood me didn't return for sometime as his mind ran over their little game. While John smiled to himself, Mycroft had said Sherlock had always wanted to be a pirate.

Sherlock was pulled from his thoughts in the cab when it pulled to a stop. He would have to work on his newest study, the effect of corrosive materials on human finger nails. John would not be thrilled when he found the jars in the cabinets.

Jack's nerves grew the further she got from London. In two weeks it would be December 15th, the seven year anniversary of her twins death. She had not seen her family since his suicide, she had skirted them at every opportunity and run from every possible situation that would lead her down the path that she was currently taking. When she had broken down two years ago now she had started to heal surprisingly in some parts thanks to the sociopaths help. She had started slow by simply being more open until now she could talk about him with out feeling her chest tighten, she could recall fond memories instead of just the tragedy of his short life.  
She was finally going to see her parents again but most importantly, suggested by John she was going to visit her brothers grave. She had never been and he seemed to think it would help, the final bit of closure for her. When the tires touched down she sighed, this was going to be an adventure all in its self. Her mother crashed into her as soon as she crossed the gate all tears and hugs while her father held back and waited his turn to pull in his little girl. They talked the whole way home and for a moment she felt like old times. Her mother gossiped about the happening around town and around the dance circuits she had once been a part of. They both listened as she told them about London, her life, her job, her new found family. About the men in her life like Sherlock, John, and Lestrade and of her first ever friend of the female variety Molly. She visited teachers and family friends reveling in her home she had left behind seven years ago thinking she would never return. When she woke up on December the 15th she felt the weight of the day but no more so then she had learned to live with.  
She drove herself to the cemetery and walked the quite grounds slowly, taking her time till she found it, the grave. The head stone was a soft grey with his name etched into it along with the date of birth and death. Her fingers traced the words as she kneeled down in front of the stone, tears fell but she didn't bother them.  
"Hey Garreth" she mumbled, she felt silly talking to a rock.  
"I, I know I never came around. I know we always said in it till the end but you ended it and I wanted it to end so" she laughed darkly.  
"I was so mad for so long at you for making me live with out you" she tried to smile.  
"I have this new friend, well I think he is my friends but I really don't know what we are anymore, he helped me, he, he showed me what you did, why you did it." She turned to lean back against the headstone her legs pulled up to her chest.  
" I have this life now that I never knew could have existed with my science. I get to help people Gar, really help them. I miss dance, I mean god do I miss it sometimes but I miss it like I miss you" she brushed her hair behind her ears when the wind ruffled it.  
"I guess, when I come down to it. All the things I wanted to say all those years when I was mad at you. What I came here to say is thank you. There could have been another way Gar, we could have worked this out together but thank you." She felt her chest tighten painfully as the sobs choked her but this time it was different. She no longer blamed herself now her tears were for the life her brother could of had.

When her tears cleared up she felt light again, she felt, good. She readjusted herself till she was comfortable with her back pressed to the stone and her legs lazily crossed out I front of her and she talked, just talked like her brother was laying there beside her. She told him every thing. Every case, every new friend and colleague, every night out she had spent with Molly, every coffee break with John, but mostly every moment she had spent with the consulting detective, the must interesting, frustrating, beautiful, intelligent man she had ever met.  
It was nearing noon when she got up to leave feeling a bit dizzy she took her time but when she reached the gate she only had enough time to make it to a near by trash can before she heaved up her dinner from the night before. When the nausea passed she felt considerable better but headed home anyway to rest, today would alway be hard for her no matter how much time passed.

Ok then, this chapter was going to have more to it but I started the grave site part out of no where and I rather like the idea. If you didn't find it it has been two years since the mental break. Two years of work before she was ready to revisit America, her family, and most importantly her brother. So next chapter will be the rest of this one so it may be shorter but frankly I am terrible at guessing how long my chapters are going to turn out because I thought this one would be short and looky at that it's up there with some of the longest. I want to add that Mycroft is one of my absolute favorites and I wish I could find a way to use him more here. SH ships Sherlock I love your reviews, they really mean a ton and help me so much especially encouraging me to get these chapters out. I am so sorry it takes me so long to get these out, to give you an idea you just reviewed for the 11th chapter so don't fret. You have my love always my friend and thank you always to you and everyone who has reviewed this story. Hope I don't let you guys down. Please review.

-Thieves

p.s. Thank you AshestoAshes for your kind words and as always SH ships Sherlock I love seeing what you have to say. Can't wait for you guys to see what I just finished writing!


	17. Chapter 17

So this is another chapter then, in my head it's kinda part of the last one but what ever. So this is the one that might get a little steamy, well, that's the plan but we all saw how that went last time I said that so then. Thank you always and forever readers from around the worlds, those who have read, favorited, followed, and reviewed... We move on now to the important stuff.

Disclaimer: I have such disdain for these but as you may have heard in chapters past I own nothing and oddly enough nothing has changed in that regard.

Preview: Well sorta like the last time but with maybe sexy time and stuff happens...yeah imagine that... And flash backs, yeah those too.

Sherlock sat in his chair with a pout curled around his violin trying his hardest to ignore the festivities around him. Christmas Eve and John insisted everyone come around to celebrate the occasion. No case to distract him and a temporary ban on all experiments involving dangerous chemicals and human body parts. John had even gone as far as moving his current experiments to Sorrena's flat to keep the urge from becoming to strong and Sherlock trying to sneak away to play. She had left John the key to her flat, apparently she didn't trust Sherlock not to search through her home even for his own curious tendencies. Everyone laughed and clinked glasses while using small talk to entertain their slow, plebeian minds.  
Molly stood with her new boyfriend, one in a long line of seemingly normal men which she enjoyed casual conversation and sexual intercourse with Sherlock noticed with her new taught confidence had come a taste in men more fitting to her personality. He couldn't say he wasn't thankful for the influence Sorrena had on the pathologist though Sorrena never kept a partner for more then a night and none had even made it that far in the last year, a fact he insisted did not please him.

Stop pouting and play nice with the other children- SM. His phone chimed and he couldn't help but smile a bit.

What makes you assume I am not taking part in the evenings festivities-SH

You answered my text in less then three seconds zombie boy-SM Sherlock smirked at just another name she used for him.

Bookshelf, left top corner behind the red anatomy text book-SM she hinted.

When he approached he tried to seem relaxed to not draw attention. He flipped through the pages with an air of boredom till a slip of paper fluttered to the ground. He quickly stuffed it into his pocket and returned to his seat to watch the people around him. He would check out his prize later. John watched from his place beside his guest Anna, a girl he had met on his ride to work every morning, as Sherlock's expression changed a message on his phone making him smile. John smiled to, he wasn't the sure the man even noticed but John could tell when it was Sorrena he was texting because her messages made him look happier no matter their content. Molly sat in the lap of her man while sat beside them gushing over the cute couple. Lestrade joked with him while nursing another drink but they seemed off with out their resident lab jockey. When Sherlock moved to flip through a textbook for no apparent reason John let it slide and brought himself back around to the conversation around him.  
"They really aren't together then?" Lestrade asked.  
"Sorrena and Sherlock?" Molly laughed  
"No, she is so focused on her work, she is going to school again you know, trying to go all the way and get her doctorate" Molly offered the DI another drink when he finished his off.  
"Yeah we talked about it" Lestrade nodded to her but still looked to John for an answer.  
"Honestly I have known Sherlock for awhile and I have no idea what goes on in that head oh his. He might be head over heels in love with the girl or he may be practically asexual for all I could tell" John sighed.  
"Oh dear, he's still a man" giggled into her sherry.  
"No but really, the way she dresses and moves and that brain of hers you can't say if there was going to be anyone it would be her yeah" John shrugged, he didn't not agree with the detective but after watching Sherlock for years help her get back on her feet, get over her depression and destructive thoughts and neither one of them ever making a move on each other he couldn't get on a read on them anymore then Sherlock could have deduced the fortune cookies.

Merry Christmas Sherlock- SM the consulting detective smiled at the message warmly.

Sorrena sat curled up on the worn leather of her families sofa. Everything felt like old times or as close as could be with the ache she felt like a piece was missing from her family, which it very well was. Her father was reading the book she had gotten him and her mother was baking making the house smell of warm cinnamon and nutmeg. Her tea nestled in her fists with a large dark green blanket wrapped around her shoulders she felt like a child again after a long days romp in the snow settling in by the fire place in her favorite spot exhausted though the tiredness had come with out the running and play she had honestly napped most of the day. Away from London she couldn't seem to catch up with her new sleep cycle.

Merry Christmas Sorrena- SH

She felt content knowing he was surrounded by friends, there was no way John was going to let the man miss the celebrations. Though she was sure he was less then enthusiastic about the fun she had prepared for it before she left, even John wasn't in on her plot. Little slips of paper left all around his flat, the lab, the morgue, Scotland Yard, her flat, even a few places she knew he frequented. A treasure hunt of sorts that would lead him to his Christmas present and ensure John some peace for Christmas from the man child and his inability to handle stagnation. He would no doubt contact her soon with more.  
She swirled her tea in her mug watching it move, her favorite tea didn't taste right anymore, she suspected the creamer. Her eyes drifted to the other side of the leather sofa where the wear and tear of use left the perfect impression of how her brother had sat in it so often beside her his matching green blanket still folded over the arm rest.  
"We will always miss him baby girl" her father spoke softly, Sorrena knew her mother still struggled with the loss as well. Sorrena had Sherlock and her mother would always have the support of her husband.  
"But we are so happy to see you again, you seem to be doing so well for your self. It's what he wanted for you little bird" Sorrena smiled at her fathers pet name for her. She smiled sadly at him.  
"I know" she answered. Sherlock reminded her of it when ever she started to slip.  
"You seem happier, happier then I have seen you in years"  
"I feel it" her father always read her better then she could read herself, it had been hardest to leave him behind when they had left for boarding school.  
"Is there, well, is there someone?" Her father was as awkward as they came.  
"Just friends dad"  
"So there is a man?" She looked at her phone again when it buzzed in her hand.

Is this meant to challenge me?- SH he had no doubt already found her second clue hidden under a floor board John had once complained was loose and Sherlock had sworn to fix till he found it made for a convent hiding spot. She smiled, he would moan and complain but there was no way he wasn't going to play along.

You're not done yet- SM Her father smiled at her as she grinned at her phone, he waited for her answer.

This is childish- SH

Well when we are dealing with a child- SM

"Maybe I wish he could be but," she trailed off looking back to her father  
"He have someone else?" Her father asked but she genuinely laughed at that.  
"You could say that" she could almost hear his constant declaration that he was married to his work.  
"I don't think he thinks of me like that, hell I don't think he thinks of anyone like that. I mean I thought he did this one time but then months of nothing so" Her father cocked a quizzical brow.  
"You are intelligent, passionate, beautiful women. If he is a man he has more then likely though of you like that"  
"Ew, we are not talking about that stuff" she blushed when her father winked and lifted his book back up to read. Everyone always said she was just like her father.  
"You don't know Sherlock Holmes" she said seriously.  
"But you do" he said from behind his book and Sorrena felt herself freeze. She had known the man for two years but only a few months ago had she started to think there maybe something under all the frost.

Sherlock sat with his hands steepled and thought. The last clue he had found, this time cleverly hidden beneath the substrate that lined his pet tarantula, Brisby's enclosure, hinted to a book he knew he had seen but couldn't place he suspected it was in her flat but after pick pocketing the keys off of John and searching the space floor to ceiling he had not found any evidence of a clue. The last place he had to look was her bedroom, the door was locked so after expertly picking the lock he opened to find the room in pristine condition, the girl had insisted on cleaning before she left. Her burgundy bed covering and dark floors gave to room an almost medieval feel along with some of her more interesting artifacts she had decorated with including sword replicas and an art work he often admired made of animal bone centering on the large skull of some form of herbivore. The book was propped up against the mirror of her dressing table. The clue inside was in code, using the sets of numbers he found the corresponding pages and words to spell out the note.  
It was instruction on how to get into Lestrade's office with out getting caught, no doubt to find another note there. There was still three days before Sorrena would return and he fully intended to have her little game completed before then but he couldn't complete the next task until night had set in, needing the darkness as a cover plus he needed to return her key to John before he noticed it's absence. Before he left his eye caught something, a detail anyone else would over look but it screamed at him. At the bottom of her bedroom waste bin sat three pieces of crumpled paper and the remains of a silver chain, his fingers lifted the metal carefully to inspect it. He felt his heart rate increase, his mouth became dry, his hands wet with perspiration, his breathing became shallow and he felt the pit of his stomach bottom out. He couldn't seem to chose between the feeling of being aroused by it or terrified. His mind palace was washed away in a flood of memory.

Flashback

She was standing over her microscope giving the piece of stomach lining she was inspecting her absolute attention. Even nearly two years since the fateful night when Jack had broken and Sorrena had finally made her appearance he found himself watching her far more often then even he deemed necessary. She had told them the previous night that she had put in for leave two months from now to visit her parents, she finally felt ready. He tried to convince himself the fear of her leaving for any amount of time was for her fear of her safety and had no personal connotations. She was in what she considered her comfort clothing, tight fitting dark jeans flat emerald green shoes to match her shirt and dark shaded eyes her hair long enough again to sweep into the messy bun she had missed after sheering away her locks.  
"If pressurized air was used to fill the stomach of a victim do you think assuming the oral and nasal cavities where properly sealed do you think the esophagus or the stomach would blow first?" He looked at her and his expression was one of confusion. He could never tell what her mind would come up with and what's worse what would come spilling out of her mouth sometimes she could hold intelligent scientific conversations only to use vulgar language and sexual innuendos in the next.  
"I do not know" Sherlock admitted  
"Wana find out?" She looked mischievous with her green eyes glinting and sparkling in the harsh light of the lab. No one was left in the building this late at night.  
"Molly said she had the upper portion of a pigs digestion all track. I asked her the same question but let's suffice it to say she now thinks I may need a shrink" Sorrena smirked, with out a case between the two of them she knew he couldn't pass up a good experiment if it meant never having to say he didn't know if he ever got that question again, though he was relatively sure he wouldn't.  
They had sealed the edges of the pork skin to the tube linking it to a pressurized air tank it hung suspended between them the end just beneath the stomach was sealed with a pull tie. All the lab equipment that normally filled the work space had been carefully packed away at the techs insistence to ensure their safety while Sherlock had procured them both goggles. He offered her a lab coat as he donned his own but she hated the texture of the fabric on her arms and declined. He nodded to her and she turned the nozzle slowly listening to the slight hiss as the gas began to fill the organ.  
"It should be the esophagus that fail first" Sherlock commented as the stomach began to fill slowly.  
"What makes you say that?" she was leaning close watching as she leaned in to get a closer look.  
"The stomach is designed to expand to allow for food consumption and is made of tougher skin to hold up agianst the stomachs acidic nature" She looked up at him and he met her eyes.  
"So there was no real reason for this?" she quirked a brow annoyed.  
"It was your question, I have no definitive proof I simply wished to supply my own hypothesis."  
"You said you didn't know what would happen"  
"In this I did not know I merely speculated" she rolled her eyes  
"You mean to tell me that" she was cut off by a load pop, pig organ splattered her clothing from top to bottoms smearing on her face and in her hair, some had even landed in her open mouth. The piece had been so fresh is had still been saturated in blood which now stained most of the lab surfaces. Sherlock had not been left untouched in the explosion his own shirt and slacks protected by the coat he had wisely opted for however his face neck and hair dripped with red and pieces of flesh, he would like to see the cabs take him now.  
"It would appear that when properly sealed and filled with pressurized air both the esophagus and stomach will rupture simultaneously in a violent outward reaction" he summarized mildly. The last piece of flesh left hanging slipped from the strings and hit the table with a plop.  
"I think I'm going to be sick" Sorrena mumbled as she tried to wipe the pork product out of her mouth.  
"That seems a bit dramatic this was your experiment"Sherlock teased in his own way.  
"You're only calling it mine because it didn't work" She grumbled as she assessed her situation feeling slick with blood and globs of flesh clinging to her.  
"The results were sloppy but the questions were answered"Sherlock shrugged.  
"What ever I need to change" she tossed him her keys and he looked confused.  
"There is a duffel in the back of my car with some clothing, grab it for me"  
"Why would I do that" he was never very good at following orders, Mycroft would know.  
"There should be some of Gar's old stuff in there that would fit you well enough. Never really had the heart to clean them out" she smile wilted a little but she didn't seem over emotional over it. It was reasonable to change, he wanted to continue his examination of a malformed gallbladder Molly had found for him and it would be preferable to not smell like pig inwards.  
"Very well" he agreed.  
"Great, I'm grabbing a shower to get this shit out of my hair, just grab the clothing you want and leave the bag outside the door for me" She shuffled away trying not to touch herself or anything around her.  
Sherlock ruffled through the bag till he found men's clothing, certainly not his style but the organ had been fresh and as such it's contents were not the most attractive smelling and since the blow the smell had become more pungent. He dropped the rest of the bag outside the women's locker room, inside he could hear the splash of water and her melodic voice singing with her music he quickly left for his own shower which would be best before changing. He was finished first having quickly rinsed the gore from his hair which now sat longer and closer to his scalp, his dark curls still damp from the shower and weighed down by the water. He was clothed in the borrowed black shirt, a bit tight on his frame and straight leg denim pants. His arms felt exposed and in the fluorescent lights he felt like the small marks on the inside of his arms were even more obvious and he hated it. He went back to his samples till he heard the doors open he looked up and his mouth fell open.  
Her hair was still wet and hanging in dark sheets across her back. Her face was clear of makeup and all the jewelry save for her favorite black crow pendant hanging on a thin silver chain. The shirt was black and tight, low cut he had easy view of the plains of her breasts pressed tight by the fabric, a skirt of green and black plaid fell a few inches above her knees giving his eyes free access to the long tanned skin of her legs, her feet were bare. He felt his breath quicken and his heart raced in his chest. He saw visions of her again in the green dress from their first case together but the girl now was even more alluring. The women in the green dress was a character, a part to play but this women was Sorrena Celeste Macotii. She was a brilliant mind a quick tongue she learned to sword fight for the fun of it and she blew up flesh in the pursuit of answers and in that moment Sherlock felt aroused at the sight of her. He swallowed thickly.  
"Can, can I ask you a favor?" She seemed shy. Sherlock nodded, not trusting his voice.  
"Will you dance with me?"  
"I, I don't" Sherlock saw the pain of his rejection before he could even form his words.  
"The last time I really danced with someone it was with my brother and then the first time I danced again after that it was in that club and it was, it just felt wrong. I want to dance with someone who matters to me" Sherlock understood that this whole display was about sentiment for her.  
"The bag, I forgot it was Gar who packed it. He always thought it was funny to put my least favorite clothing in my emergency bags as a prank" She explained as she self consciously pulled at the hem of the skirt trying to pull it lower.  
"I don't think that would be best. Some would say you are simply using me as a substitute so you can pretend your twin has returned to you helped by the fact I am dressed in his clothing." She shook her head no.  
"No, I want to dance with you Sherlock" he didn't say anything, the way she used his name made heat pool low in his groin and his heart fluttered.  
She redocked her iPod and scrolled till she had found the song she wanted she pressed play and stocked forward her feet padding softly on the tiles.

Zombie, Zombie

Her eyes darkened as he caught her pupils looked wide before he felt her press against him. Her hands wound behind his neck and he lifted his own to rest on her hips.  
"Relax" she whispered in his ear and he closed his eyes.

I'm in love with a zombie  
Can't keep his hands off me  
I think he's looking at me  
But he's looking right through me

She swayed, her hips rotating under the pressure of his hands and she pressed into him further. His own body responded to her gentle rhythmic movement to match her. Moving smoothly with her body her fingers worked through the hair at his neck.

You think you're so cool boy  
Blood rushing through my veins now  
Do you want me for my body  
Do you want me for my brain, brain, brain, brain

She spun around suddenly being over and suddenly lifting her body flipping her hair back over her shoulder before grinding back into her pelvis his hand steadied her but his grip was tight gripping into the flesh of her waist. When she pushed back harder into him she could feel his growing erection pressing into her and she grinned devilishly.

I'm in love with a zombie (boy)  
I'm in love with a zombie (boy)  
I'm in love with a zombie (boy)  
But his heart is so cold  
I'm in love with a zombie (boy)  
I'm in love with a zombie (boy)  
I'm in love with a zombie (boy)  
But his heart is so cold

She leaned all the way back, her back firm to his chest. She could feel the beat of his heart, strong and fast. She gasped when she felt his hot breath on her throat and then his lips brushed the flushed skin over her pulse point and she moaned. His hands drifted lower and his hands rested on the bare skin of her upper thighs as they still moved in time with each other.

Cold, cold, freezing, freezing  
Got my heart beating, beating  
Cold, cold, freezing, freezing  
Got my heart beating, beating

She had not felt this safe before in the arms of anyone but her twin. He supported her as they moved together. He listened to her, he helped her when she was at her lowest, he had saved her life. She turned to face him and their lips found each other. The kiss was hot and desperate as something broke in both of them and they set a desperate pace as tongues tasted each other. She turned around her body still in rhythm with the music and pressed herself back between his legs earning a growl that rumbled deep on his chest. They broke apart gasping for air and paused for a moment both assessing the other. Pupils wide, chests heaving, skin flushed they jumped back on each other suddenly. Her hands roamed his chest while his traced down her sides brushing her ass before he lifted her onto the table they had ended up leaning against.

I'm in love with a zombie  
When he put his hands on me  
Send chills through my body  
But then he don't call me

Her roaming hands found the hem of his shirt and she pulled away long enough to pull it over his head and return her attention to his now exposed chest. He returned the gesture her pendant catching on the fabric snapping the silver chain but neither paid notice, finding her in a emerald silk bra with black lace. The skin of her chest was stained pink and her breasts looked soft and supple. His finger tips brushed the exposed skin and found the texture was softer then he had imagined. She moaned at his ministrations and he felt to noise go strait to he groin. She pushed back against him, the skin of their chests meeting and attacked his mouth again.

And I know that he like me  
Cause he chasing me nightly  
And I want him to bite me  
Cause i know I'm gonna like it, like it, like it, like it

He played with the edge of her skirt before his hand drifted higher and she spread her legs a little wider in anticipation. His pants had become tight and uncomfortable now fully erect and pressing into the unforgiving fabric. Her own wandering hands ghosted over the sensitive flesh and his knees nearly buckled at the sensation. His finger found her center and he moaned as they slid along her flesh. The dancing was forgotten as their minds fogged over with lust.

Cold, cold, freezing, freezing  
Got my heart beating, beating  
Cold, cold, freezing, freezing  
Got my heart beating, beating  
Cold, cold, freezing, freezing  
Got my heart beating, beating  
Cold, cold, freezing, freezing  
Got my heart beating, beating

Sherlock pulled back for a moment trying to understand what was happening but she would have none of it quickly pulling him back to her. Her tongue dragged up his throat and she found his ear tugging it gently with her teeth. His rational mind was demanding he have answers , that he lock down this emotional, corporal demand. This was Sorrena, a valued friend who suffered from emotion stress and was invaluable in cases. He knew he needed to stop. To let the cold logical part of his brain to take over but as she ground against him he found less and less that he could stop,even if he wanted to. He had denied his flesh for so long, never letting the smallest infraction to crack his resolve in this aspect yet here he was a slave to his own transport.

Baby all I want is an answer  
When I walk past ya  
Why you gonna act like I'm Casper  
Every boy wanna know, irresistible, kissable  
But you think I'm the invisible girl

Sorrena let her hand fall to his belt loops and she pulled him back in when he pushed away from her. She had never seen even a flicker of want form the man and suddenly he was all over her, everywhere she needed him to be and she wasn't letting him run away from this consequences be damned. He didn't try to pull away again she pried open the button of his pants managing to let them drop and slipping her finger into the waist band of his boxer which soon joined his pants on the floor. He stripped her of her black panties and his finger were back where she needed them soon after.

Keep it down low  
We be creeping, freaking  
Got me feeling so ah ah  
Trying to keep cool, heart beating  
You're heart's freezing  
But I still want ya-a-a

She gripped him, letting him enjoy the pleasure of the sensation for a few moments. His breathing was ragged as he bucked into her hand. His chest rumbled when he moaned. She gave him some time to relax more before releasing him. His eyes met her and he looked unsure. She didn't see the cold analytical mind he always used she saw a young man who was terrified he was going to mess this up.  
"Please Sherlock" she begged when she lined herself up with him and he didn't move forward to press into her. He locked eyes with her reading ever line of her face, every micro expression every flash in her eyes when with a hard thrust he was inside her and they both called out.

I'm in love with a zombie (boy)  
I'm in love with a zombie (boy)  
I'm in love with a zombie (boy)  
But his heart is so cold  
I'm in love with a zombie (boy)  
I'm in love with a zombie (boy)  
I'm in love with a zombie (boy)  
But his heart is so cold

Their pace was hard and fast since the start. New to the whole experience Sherlock wouldn't last long but when he was reaching his limit Sorrena was with him. She hadn't been with another man in over a year. She couldn't find herself a man she didn't find herself comparing to Sherlock and finding the whole exercise a disappointment she had let that part of her life fall away for now but her body suddenly getting what she wanted from the person she had been fantasizing about it with for months was enough to make the whole experience a bit overwhelming. They came came close together Sorrena's own triggering Sherlock's.

Cold, cold, freezing, freezing  
Cold, cold  
Cold, cold, freezing, freezing  
Cold, cold

They pulled away from each other slowly but as the haze cleared and they both saw what had happened with clearer focus they had both fled. For the first two weeks after that neither had said a word to each other and when they started talking again it was never brought up. An unspoken mistake between the two of them, no one could ever know.

Sherlock dropped the chain like it had burned him and mentally shoved the images away as best he could. He had spent weeks trying to delete the experience but his mind clung to the whole thing desperately pulling it into his dreams sometimes simply replaying the events other time creating new scenarios where he felt her skin beneath his own. It left him waking drenched in sweat and several times only remedied by a cold shower. She never brought it up but he was well aware of how she operated with relationships. She never kept a man for more then a night that he had ever encountered and before her brothers death she had never taken a partner either romantically or physically. He accepted this fact and forced himself to move on after all the throbbing he felt in his chest when he saw her was nothing of importance. There was no room for sentiment in his world. He left her flat to continue his mission, there was no telling how many more clues she had hidden for him.

Ok then, you were warned. I tried to do that with out getting to graphic but I wanted to try to challenge myself. The song was Zombie by Natalia Kills. It a fav of mine and it seemed to fit rather well to the situation and with the lyrics so that was fun. Really tell me what you guys think on this one. I also as I have said I'm bad at guessing how long a chapter is going to be...so they have had relations that no one know about and they both have not had a chance to deal with the emotions that go with that. I really have nothing left to say about this chapter. It was another fun one to wrote and I can't wait for you guys to see it. Thanks you so so so much to everyone who has read and reviewed so far. Please continue to do so it means so much to me to see your words. Thank you

-Thieves


	18. Chapter 18

So, I keep hesitating to write this chapter. I have this set of events I want to happen but I'm still stuck on the order of how those will occur. So here is my attempt at getting this one right. Thanks to all the readers so far and so sorry for the wait on this one. This one may be a bit shorter but we all know how that works out for me.

Disclaimer: Have you any reason to believe I own Sherlock, I thought not.

Preview:Sorrena returns and she may have to make some important life choices.

Sherlock sat in his chair, hands steepled beneath his chin eyes locked on the box before him. He spent two days following Sorrena's clues up and down London before he found the box, locked, hidden in a back alley well disguised on the other side of London. The gift, what ever it might be was locked inside. It simply had to be because she would be home in a few hours and he refused to have this un solved upon her return. He had fully inspected the box, a eight inch square cube made of dull metal sealed well with a number key lock. This was like The Women all over again. Four numbers, zero to nine. He knew she would chose something of significance so it was not random. He had tried her birthday, his, John's, the day they had met, the day she was to return, even the date of her brothers death. Now he sat watching the box while he sifted through his mind palace for another clue. His phone chimed across the room but he ignored it, no doubt John warning him he had left to pick up Sorrena from the airport.  
The last note was simple, And with this I wish you a Merry Christmas, all the others had been complicated riddles and equations, one clue had even had him mixing volatile chemicals nearly blowing up her lab. Yet this one, the final question was simple. It deviated from her pattern, he was unsure when his mind had started thinking about this in terms of a serial killer. He certainly had not been bored in days.

John smiled when he saw her dragging a heavy dark suitcase behind her, a duffle bag strapped across her back. He took the rolling luggage from her when she got close enough.  
"You look tired" he offered with a smile when she huffed a little and readjusted the heavy pack hanging from her shoulder humping against her hip.  
"Well hello to you too " John laughed  
"Yeah sorry, it's been a long few weeks with you gone." He smiled and helped her load the trunk of the cab she was taking. She had called John the night before to come pick her up and help her home a week of emotionally draining family time and this cold she couldn't kick added to major jet lag she wasn't entirely sure how coherent she really was.  
"I sent him on a treasure hunt to keep him out of your hair for a bit"  
"And I can never stop thanking you for that" John held the door open for her as she settled into the cab.  
"But you couldn't have don't that sooner?" He looked pained, the man had really been a pain more so then usual. She laughed at his pain.  
"I honestly wasn't sure how long that was all going to take him. It was the last card I had up my sleeve." John watched her, she did look tired and a bit worn but she looked lighter. He had suggested she visit her family awhile back and when the anniversary she dreaded most came around and she had announced she would be going home for it this year, the first time in seven years, he was unsure what would return to them. She was smiling and talking amiably none of it looked forced but he wasn't the observant one but he knew Jack and she looked, content. He smiled when their conversation tapered off and she slumped in her seat asleep.  
He gently shook her awake when they pulled up in front of 221b. She looked around confused.  
"We, well I, figured you could use a good meal when you got back."  
"Sleep" she mumbled as she stumbled a bit and John helped her the rest of the way out of the car. He took all her bags since she could barely keep herself standing.  
"You will do better if you stay up, wait till tonight to sleep. It will get your sleep cycle reset." John laughed when she walked, dragging her feet and eyes blinking blearily.  
"Never really got on any sorta schedule back home anyway" She muttered. John shrugged and pushed the door open. He dropped the bags by the door and led her up stairs where he dropped her into his own usual chair.  
"I'm making you coffee and then we are eating I want to hear more about your trip" John made sure she was settled, she was already looking more awake but he knew jet lag could be a bitch if you didn't fight through it and if he was going with his medical training he would say some sort of cold had settled into her chest.  
"Is he broken or something?" He heard her ask as she watched Sherlock still sitting with his hands steepled under his chin and his eyes closed the box untouched in front of him.  
John came back and handed her a cup which she readily took and he watched from behind the chair with his own cup. The consulting detective was absolutely still with his breathing slow and steady his eyes closed they could make out the movement of his eyes beneath the lids which Sorrena was beginning to find unsettling. John sipped his own drink loudly but there was no response.  
"Yeah he is deep in there then he may not be back for a few hours" She laughed and swallowed down half her coffee chugging the dark liquid. John gave her an odd look.  
"Can't kick this tired stuff, been going on for days. Mom thinks I'm working to hard" she admitted.  
"You do work to hard" John pointed out and she shrugged.  
"My version of working hard is apparently not congruent with everyone else's" she sighed and adjusted her self in the chair so her legs dangled over the arm rest.  
"We already knew that" John agreed. She zeroed in on the detective again.  
"I can feel you staring" his voice was deeper then normal and Sorrena tried to ignore the heat that settled in her lower half. She kept replaying the talk with her dad and what's worse the night in the lab. It had changed things with them at least for her because it was some form of proof there was something under all those cold deductions and well practiced disinterest but there had been nothing since then he never stood to close or let his eyes wander, never a kiss, not a hand, he hadn't even accidentally brushed against her in passing but there seemed to be no tension on his part, back to indifference she supposed.  
"You haven't figured out my puzzles" she smirked, his eyes opened at the challenge.  
"I have, I had to run all over London to get a box that does not open" Sherlock looked frustrated.  
"You're welcome" She was smug.  
"I told you yesterday this was pointless"Sherlock defended.  
"You told me?" She asked. John rolled his eyes, he could tell where this was headed.  
"Yes of course"  
"I just got back from America like three hours ago" she tried to not rise up against him. He was doing it to piss her off.  
"You were gone, I hadn't noticed" Sherlock acted aloof and Sorrena huffed. She was sick, she was exhausted, she had spent weeks setting up this little game for him, she had confronted her family for the first time in seven years and what's more visited her dead twins grave all on top of her absolutely frustrating sexual tension she had going right now. She was not in the mood for his shit. Sherlock watched her face with fascination. She was not unhappy when she had come in. He had been aware of their arrival but he wanted to figure out her last clue before acknowledging her but now she was upset, no doubt with him. She was tired and hungry and if his calculations were correct two days into her cycle and her system would be flooded with an unreasonable amount of hormones.  
"Fuck off mop top" she swallowed down the second half of her coffee and placed the mug onto the table beside them both. She grabbed the box and spun the numbers quickly before dropping in his lap.  
"Merry Christmas you ass" she moved out of the flat quickly and was down the stairs before John was out of his seat, he didn't follow her.  
"You couldn't be nice to her for one day" John sighed taking back his chair.  
"She isn't me, you can't just be rude and expect her to always be ok with, hell I'm not always ok with it."  
"Why would that matter, she knows who I am, how I function." Sherlock moved the box back in front of him. John didn't realize it but she had already gotten her revenge for his attitude by stealing his puzzle and solving it for him when he had finally gotten so close. The numbers set to 1-2-2-5, Merry Christmas indeed. He knew John was talking but he had placed him on mute and was opening the box. Inside was packed tightly with straw which he shifted through till he found the off white rounded surface. When he dug it out he smiled, truly smiled.  
"Oh god, is that?" John sounded a little sick.  
"Oh yes it is a mans skull who had a psychical deformity in the lower jaw that would have made speech impossible who was shot execution style" he held a skull, the bottom jaw was thicker then normal the joint nearly fully calcified. In the center of the forehead was a small round hole with small cracks radiating out from it. Her gift was perfect he couldn't remember a time receiving anything better.  
"She got you a skull, is it real?"  
"What, yes of course it's real" he jumped from his chair and placed it delicately beside his other bone friend.  
"So what did you get her?" John asked sipping his drink again. Sherlock froze.  
"Get her?" He asked cautiously.  
"Yes Sherlock get her. You are friends she gave you a gift and you should have one for her. That's how things work Sherlock I know you know that in that brain of yours." John reprimanded.  
"I don't get you things" Sherlock offered as a counter point to his argument. John blushed a little.  
"No, you don't, and you shouldn't. This is different"  
"I don't see how" Sherlock was gesturing as he moved around the flat.  
"Of course you don't you idiot" John muttered. His friend really was blind if he couldn't see there was something between himself and their beautiful lab jokey friend. Sherlock rushed by and swung his coat around him pulling it on and tying his scarf.  
"Where are you going?" John asked. He didn't get an answer.

Sorrena was back to work the next day. Molly had kept to her word and did her best to keep the room to the techs standards. Sherlock had moved a few of her possessions but nothing drastic, nothing she could get upset with. She quickly got to work on the back up of evidence and less enthusiastically on the over flow of paper work that would need her attention. Her music was on and up and she was working with her head down when Sherlock pushed inside. He seemed to consider speaking with her but thought better of it and went back to his own work having left them for the few days he had been playing her little game.  
"Your time with you family has brought you some comfort. You position is relaxed, you are seated while you normally stand and move during your work, even your clothing choices are relaxed though that could be due to your apparent sickness" he waited till the song was fading to end to speak to be heard.  
"I spoke to my brother" she admitted rolling the volume down a bit.  
"Your brother is dead" Sherlock was confused by her admission, she showed no other sign of mental instability.  
"Yes thank you for that deduction" She dead panned.  
"I went to his grave" she explained.  
"I had never gone, I, I couldn't even make the funeral. I wasn't ready back then but when I went back I wasn't mad anymore. I was sad but it's different now, I miss him everyday but I, I'm finally feeling ready to move on. This life is pretty good and I have him to thank for it I guess" She sighed heavily and Sherlock smile though slight was true. He had done his best to help her reading book after book on psychological disorders and trauma. They had been insightful where John had provided the physical aspects of the therapy Sherlock provided the logical mind grounding she would require. Two years had proven successful as he now had a reliable chemist and lab tech at his disposal. He assured himself this had been his only objective and when a memory of her skin forced itself forward he shoved it back into the recesses of his mind palace.

Sorrena pushed herself off the chair in Lestrade's office. A week back and she still couldn't find her rhythm. For some one who could spend days running on nothing but one meals food and maybe a few hours of sleep but what ever she had caught stateside was devastating her usual stamina.  
"You alright then Jack?" Lestrade had been happy to see her back, she had spent longer then he expected visiting family. He wouldn't deny he was lucky to have her, skill and training wise she was great and now with a few years experience under her belt and well on her way to her doctorate she would be the top of her field in the next few years and here she was stashed away in his department. She smiled at his concern.  
"I think it's the flu which would be my luck right two weeks off and come back sick as a dog." She was trying to assuage his doubts.  
"Go see a doctor get a clean bill of health or something that will get you right as rain. I won't hesitate to put you on forced leave again." He warned but his smile was warm and Sorrena felt like he really was her other father he just wanted what was best for her. She let him pull her into a hug his arm over her shoulder as he led her out.  
"And I don't mean John" he called after her, he could hear her laugh as elevator doors closed and he shook his head at her. She may soon be a doctor but she would still be that kid he saw her as the day she had shown up. The department psychologist had given him her take on the girl and he had still opted to take her in. Admittedly after Sherlock's supposed death riddled with guilt and failing in terms of solving cases he had needed the help where he could find it.  
He had been warned she was not necessarily stable after a traumatic loss and she was not experienced in a field setting but she came highly recommended and could start immediately. She had come in looking more uncomfortable then he had expected. Long dark hair tied back and a dark suit jacket paired with a sensible pale blue polo and black slacks. She looked like a kid dressing up like her mom. He had sent her off with a few sample and to his surprise she showed up only three hour later with results. Three cases and only two months later he was sitting at his desk when she had burst into his office hair a wild mess, tighter black shirt askew and tight purple pants tucked into army style boots. More jewelry dangled from her ears and nose and her make up had been heavy with shades of lavender and silver he almost hadn't recognized her. She was spouting off fact and science he couldn't follow. When she finally stopped waiting for some sort of response he couldn't think about her findings.  
"What are you wearing?" Her eyes got wide and she seemed surprised to find she wasn't in her suit.  
"I, I, forgot to change before I got here" She was pink with embarrassment.  
"Change?" He asked  
"I, well, its distracting to wear all that professional crap, I mean attire, so I just sorta, change" she was nervous her head ducked and fingers played with the edge of her shirt. He laughed, he actually laughed his hand running over his hair.  
"Jack if dressing like some sort of teenager makes you work like this then by all means" he hadn't had these kind of results since Sherlock.  
"Really?" She was like a puppy.  
"Yeah. Yes now go you crazy girl back to the lab" she looked like a child with double portions of dessert as she practically skipped back to her lab. It seemed crazy to think it had been only a few years ago. Lestrade went back to reading the files she had brought over.

"Miss Macotii can explain your condition currently?" The doctor was old with a bald head a well trimmed white goatee and thick wire framed glasses. He had a calm voice and Sorrena could practically feel this man had seen just about everything. They went over her symptoms together and he seemed to agree that it was no doubt the flu.  
"You should be eating and sleeping more often Miss Macotii" he was gently feeling the joints in her knee and ankle choosing to finish out her routine exam while she was already in.  
"Your ankles feel slightly swollen" he felt over them again.  
"Old dancers ankles" She admitted, she had dealt for years with the after effects of the wear and tear she had put her body through in her youth.  
"You seem healthy for the most part. Rest, food, and some relaxation would not be bad either." Sorrena rolled her eyes.  
"I'm starting to think that's all anyone is ever going to tell me"  
"They are not wrong then"  
"I just got back from vacation" Sorrena offered.  
"And was it a relaxing vacation" he asked wisely and she smiled.  
"Not exactly relaxing no" She admitted.  
"Family?" He guessed and she nodded.  
"Well I'm going to order a few blood tests since we haven't seen you in some time" he gave her a reprimanding look and she smiled apologetically. She had not been in since she her required visit at the beginning of her school career.  
"Any lasting effects from your poisoning?" He questioned as he inserted the needle and she winced.  
"None I can think of" she tried not to move as she felt the uncomfortable sensation of the blood draw and grimaced.  
"You got rather lucky with your friend there having a treatment for you I read the file" she smiled.  
"Yeah, really lucky" she couldn't help but smile when she thought about it because frankly it was an impossible thought. Her fantasies were getting a little out of control. She would imagine him holding her hand on a walk or hugging her and forcing her to eat when she was growing to hungry. She saw them working together for hours before going for another romp in the lab or on her bed, the sofa, the floor, she had gotten rather creative as of late.  
"Miss Macotii?" The doctor called back her attention and she was blushing scarlet.  
"You are done here if you would like" he was kind enough to help her off the table.  
"I will call you later in the week should anything come up" she nodded and left. Her smile was fading. She felt like she stuck in a vicious cycle thoughts of Sherlock would make her happy and then reality would rear it ugly head and remind her this was Sherlock and sentiment wasn't just lost on the man it was nonexistent. She pulled out her phone and called Molly.  
"Hey Mols, I have the half day off you wanna have lunch?" Girl talk seemed reasonable right now and god knew the girl could relate.

Sorrena walked the halls of Bart's navigating her way to meet Molly in the morgue before they headed out for lunch, the third time this week she had gone out to eat with the girl. She was still feeling under the weather but it was making her constantly hungry. When she got inside Molly was shoulder deep I'm a morbidly obese dead man.  
"Wow Molly digging for gold?" she joked.  
"Oh gosh, Jack Im so sorry. This guy just came in and I have to do this now" she smiled sheepishly which had a morbid side when she was covered in a bit of gore reaching inside of dead mans chest and removing his liver. Sorrena wandered around to the other side of the man. Her nose wrinkled, he had a definite smell to him.  
"Murder victim?" She asked as Molly weighted the organ.  
"Um, no. Homeless man. Died of natural causes, unclaimed so I figured I would give him to Sherlock, I mean, wow sorry that sounded really mean but" Sorrena laughed.  
"No Molly it cool. I get it, it going to be like Christmas for the man."  
"Anymore, thoughts?" Molly questioned. Sorrena almost regretted telling the girl about her growing feelings for the detective, though she had left out their one, more carnal, meeting.  
"We are not discussing this right now" Sorrena was not going to talk about her childish school yard crush on their resident sociopathic consulting detective with out a few strong drinks.  
"Oh, yeah sorry. Um maybe tonight when I'm done here" Molly offered.  
"Yeah no prob" Sorrena shrugged. She would still go for food with her stomach rumbling on empty. She pulled on her leather jacket and tied up her scarf a multi colored number from John for Christmas. Her bag strapped across her chest she headed out the front doors. Her guilty pleasure was a bakery a few blocks over that made a killer soup she loved on days like this. She felt a gust of wind over her shoulder and when she turned away from it she felt a chill run down her spine. Still a block from her favorite hole in the wall the slick black car with heavily tinted windows was rolling slowly near by. They certainly were not trying to hide their position. Her phone rang in her pocket but the number was blocked.  
"Oh this is such a bad idea" she muttered to herself and accepted the call.  
"A good choice Miss Macotii now if you could be so kind as to step into the car" the voice was cool, smooth, and distinctly British.  
"Am I being kidnapped?" She asked.  
"Not if you chose willingly"  
"Am I being threatened?" she was pretty sure she knew what this was but she couldn't be sure.  
"Do you need to be?" He asked her.  
"I assure you I only intend to speak with you in a few business matters" she sighed but turned around. A women with a black berry was already outside holding open the back door for her. She slide into the seat.  
"Ok creepy stalker man I'm trusting you" she warned and hung up before he could have the satisfaction. She didn't even try to engage the women who sat beside her.

She found herself in front of a very expensive restaurant but once led inside she met him. He was taller then her his hair dark, a slight reddish tint and thinning slightly. His eyes cold and analytical in a familiar way. He was in a rather snappy three piece suit for one o clock on a Tuesday afternoon and he was leaning lightly on an umbrella. The restaurant was empty and a single table was set for them. He gestured for her to sit before taking a seat himself.  
"It's wonderful to finally meet you Miss Macotii" he smiled like a predator.  
"And you " she answered pleasantly. Two plates were placed in front of them salads with chicken and a light dressing. She was to hungry to refuse it and it was frankly fantastic she almost moaned in pleasure.  
"He told you about me" he didn't sound surprised.  
"If by he you mean John then yes. And if by business you were referring to Sherlock then shouldn't we be talking about that" she asked between bites.  
"Rather straight forward of you" he commented.  
"I have samples to run and Molly is about to set your brother loose on a corpse which is always great fun and hours of entertainment." Mycroft grimaced at the image.  
"Yet you left your lab for lunch" she shrugged.  
"I was hungry"  
"That would be understandable for someone in your state" she gave him a look and he became considerably more serious.  
"You have made considerable progress in your psychological evaluations in the last two years no longer showing signs of heavy depression or suicidal tendencies. Higher figures in work productivity and the success rate at Scotland Yard has never been higher since you and Sherlock joined forces" he read off from the little book beside him.  
"You have high credentials and are achieving honors later this year when your masters thesis is completed. You are looking at a very full career particularly when your doctorate has been completed" he continued.  
"And here I thought we were going to have a nice meal" she fell back on sarcasm when she was getting uncomfortable.  
"Oh come now let's be honest with each other Miss Macotii. You still feel these feelings, the loss of your twin much still weigh heavily on you. How long will it be this time before you crack beneath the pressure again. A year, two, five?" Sorrena frowned.  
"My brother is a former junkie who solves murders to keep himself off the sauce. A man who nearly threw himself off a building to save the lives of the only friends he has ever made in his life. Their association with him nearly cost them their lives. It very nearly cost you yours as well when you went for your first undercover mission at his insistence."  
"Are you making a point?" She was short with him.  
"There are many things that could very easily send him back into the arms of his addiction"  
"Such as me?" She was no longer interested in her food.  
"Such as your mental and emotional trauma" he responded.  
"He did a lot for me, I would say he took the whole thing pretty well" she didn't want to talk about this with the man.  
"Surprisingly so, not something I think would carry over to the current situation" he held up a file labeled with her name. She lifted her brow in question as he handed it over to her and she opened the file. She read the pages in stunned silence, tears ran down her cheeks and she found she was hyperventilating.  
" I believe congratulations are in order" he remarked mildly.  
"Shut up" she hissed. She was not taking the news as rational as he had hoped.  
"How did this happen?" She choked out trying to calm her panic.  
"I think we both understand the mechanics and since your infatuation with my brother started last year you have had no other sexual partners outside of your, interaction, with my brother in you lab" she really didn't want to know how he knew about that.  
"Now I think we both agree Sherlock would not do well in the situation you are about to kind yourself in" She nodded quietly in agreement.  
"I am willing to offer you a significant sum and can arrange for a professional promotion that will benefit you greatly to assist you or if you wish for termination I can arrange"  
"No!" She looked disgusted with his suggestion  
"Not, not termination" she stuttered. He nodded as if he understood her.  
"Can you give me time to decide?" Her question was quite and nervous.  
"How much time will you require?" He sounded bored with her. She thought about every little thing she knew about Sherlock, every moment she had observed him even the steamier moments between them. Thought few, just long heated looks or light touches in passing and of course the fateful night they had blown up a pigs stomach. She couldn't do this to him, his brother had a point, Sherlock was doing something amazing with his life even if it was unconventional and this, she could ruin him.  
"Go ahead with it" she pushed her chair out and went to leave.  
" We will need to discus your payment" he asked after her. She spun to face him with fire in her eyes.  
"I don't want your money " She slapped him and his face turned sharply.  
"And don't ever go digging in my personal life again to use it against me" she huffed.  
"I understand what you're doing. You are trying to give your brother the best life possible life any way you can. I understand that better then most" she looked sad and Mycroft worked to stay indifferent.  
"You will hear of the position I have arranged for you in the next week. I trust you will be discreet" she didn't answer him as she left. She ignored his car to walk and clear her head. She kept seeing those words over and over in her head. An impossibility since her surgeries years back something she had had to endure and accept when she was young yet there it was in clear black print.

Pregnancy Test: Positive

Well ok this is just getting silly. I held off on this chapel because I wasn't sure how to bulk up what I was trying to say with everything I wanted to happen. I only got through two of the events I had planned...once agian I will be splitting this chapter up...So, what would you expect from these two now. Can she tell him, will she, has Mycroft gone to far to protect his brother. What about John, Molly, Lestrade, her parents, what will they do. Next one should be quicker since I have it well planned and I have a lot of free time so stay tuned my friends. I wanted to clarify only Sherlock calls her Sorrena everyone else still obeys her wishes to be called Jack. Let me know what you think. I really hate that you won't see this chapter till the next one is done but I made a promise to myself...

-Thieves


	19. Chapter 19

See, I love you all so much I'm trying to give you another chapter because I feel really bad for it taking a few days on the last one. So this will finish what should of happened in the last chapter. What do you think of the announcement, did you remember the medical report in the file, why she is so surprised by this. Sherlock would have known about it too...and before I reveal to much perhaps I should get on with the show. Thanks to everyone who has made it this far with me, you all know who you are.

Disclaimer:...ok, you caught me I own nothing...

Preview: Lestrade has to face what he has feared for some time and Sherlock makes an attempt at giving a gift.

The silver haired DI sat at his desk, he just couldn't bring himself to move. He had gotten a call that morning which had shocked him it was still very early or very late in the states depending on how you looked at it but they had spent nearly an hour on the phone with him reviewing every possible detail about Sorrena Celeste Macotii. Everything from her methods, interpersonal relationships, her life outside of the office, even her psych evals had been on the table and it left him feeling a bit blind sided. The boss in him gave her all the credit where it was due proud of his employee and her progress but the part of him that saw the small women as his friend if not his family knew with every word he was only encouraging them to make his lab jockey an offer she wouldn't want to refuse.  
He was suppose to call her in and tell her about their offer and alert her they would be in contact but for the last three hours he had just sat there. They would all miss her John, Molly, , even a few of the officers who enjoyed her carefree attitude and sarcastic wit and dear god would Sherlock miss her but if they wanted her to succeed this would be more then success for the girl and he had no right to hold it back from her. He dialed her phone and waited.  
"Whatcha need boss man?" He could hear the thud of her music in the background.  
"You busy?" He asked, they were not on any new cases which meant he approved for her to use the lab to experiment as needed to find information that could help them on future cases. Donovan had requested he stop using her on Anderson's cases and he had not hesitated, John may have also let slip that Sherlock believed Anderson had laid a hand on the girl in a less the platonic manner.  
"Just have some week old liver segments I was letting rot but it can wait a bit before I crack the seals, you need me?" He honestly never really wanted to know what she got up to in that lab of hers. He had been to Sherlock and John's flat enough times to know if it was anything similar then he didn't want to know.  
"Yeah. I need to talk with ya, just for a bit in my office" he tried to sound happy.  
"Consider me on my way" she laughed and he heard her moving around no doubt gathering her jacket and scarf. She seemed to have been taking rather good care of herself the last week. Remembering to eat, sleep and dress warmly. He almost wanted to congratulate John for getting through to one of their geniuses on their physical care. She came bustling in twenty minutes later.  
"Sorry had to fight mop top off my tissue sample before I left." He shook his head, the two made no sense to him, just as John had said there was just no way to tell with Sherlock but he felt he should be able to get some thing from Jack if there really was anything to say on the subject.  
"You know how much I love having you here. You are one of the greatest assets to our team. People thought I was crazy when I brought in an addict to help solve crimes and that turned out great and people thought I had gone mad when I brought in the likes of you but, well we have never seen better. I knew that day you came crashing in your hair a mess that some day someone was going to realize I had something as great as you stashed away in our labs but" he frowned and she looked concerned.  
"Are, are you firing me?" She asked nervous.  
"God no" he laughed and she managed a small smile.  
"I got a call this morning from the Jeffersonian institute in D.C., they have a forensic team there that has been pairing up with the F.B.I. for a few years now helping solve murder cases. Turns out they want to add a forensic chemist to their team and your name came up. They talked with me this morning about your work and such. They," he paused looking at her, her eyes were wide and rimmed in black, heavier even then usual for her.  
"They want to offer you the position. They are willing to pay for your relocation and any other expenses need plus for the first year it would function as your doctoral work. By the years end you could have a great job, your doctorate and being working along side others at the top of their field." She opened and closed her mouth a few times like a stunned fish. Her mind was reeling she had figured Mycroft would pull some thing that would tempt her, make sure she didn't back out of her side of their deal but he had literally found her dream.  
She had applied for an internship soon after she graduated and had been denied and now they were offering her a position on staff. She would still get to solve crimes and be around people like minded, she would be back in her home country but still far enough away from her parents to not feel smothered by them and the pain that came from being around them but most importantly she would be far away from Sherlock. Mycroft will have kept his brother safe from the truth and she would have a stable environment to bring up their child he would never know about.  
"I, I have to think about this, it, I mean" her boss smiled sadly.  
"Jack this a dream opportunity I don't want you to think we wouldn't want this for you but we will miss you" he handed her the card where he had scribbled down their contact info. She couldn't think of anything else to say as she slunk down the hallway and back outside for a long walk.

When she got back to her lab she gave herself a few seconds to clear her expression and pushed inside. Sherlock was at work on a scope with some of the samples he had still managed to pilfer from her despite her efforts. She felt like she had to use every ounce of her ability to keep him from reading the truths out of her lies.  
"I thought I told you not to touch that" she reprimanded.  
"Hmm, yes. I chose to disregard that" he didn't even look apologetic because she knew he wasn't.  
"Apparently. How did you even get that?" She had locked the samples in Molly's private safe in the morgue.  
"I know the lock code" he admitted offhandedly as he scrawled down notes.  
"Of course you do" she grumbled.  
"What did Lestrade need?" He questioned, she had not told him where she was going but he always seemed to know.  
"Just because you don't have paper work to file doesn't mean no one else does" he shrugged.  
"Dull" Sorrena smiled when she realized though he showed no outward signs of apology he had set up her work station for her even prepping a few key slides, his own version of a fair trade. She turned on the music and he pulled on his head phones and for them normality ensued.  
She tried to stay focused, her mind kept wandering to the slip of paper weighing down her pocket. One call away and she could be back in her own country working in a state of the art facility being trained for a doctorate in forensic chemistry when ten years ago she had been on her way to being a professional dancer. If only Garrathin could see her now she wasn't sure if he would hug her or call her stupid that she was even having doubts about it. This was once in a life time, but this was no longer just her life. Her eyes darted from her scope to her still toned and thin middle.  
She tried to push back the thoughts. She couldn't think of it as a baby, her baby, their baby. Right now it was a fetus that had gotten her into a lot of trouble. With out it maybe she could have stuck around, made up some excuse to not be around Sherlock anymore. Honestly no one would be to surprised if she did the way the two fought and bickered constantly only to sit in silence for hours with each other. Sherlock was not a father, she didn't even know how the man was with kids but if how he dealt with adults was an indication it wouldn't be pretty. She tried not to picture him holding their baby with soft dark curls and bright eyes because it was worse then her sexy fantasies about the man not because it couldn't happen but because she couldn't let it happen.  
Sorrena watched as he dripped liquid over the samples before him and there was a chemical reaction making the flesh fizz and bubble. She swallowed thickly, and a horrible thought struck her. Could she harm her child by simply being around the very things she worked with. Her eyes scanned the room taking in the bottles labeled with toxic and poisonous. She felt herself start to panic but she fought it down. She needed to protect her baby, when she was only 17 had removed all of one ovary and a majority of the other. She had been warned the chance of her ever having her own child naturally was so slime it wasn't worth mentioning. She had mourned and at her lowest her brother had held her while she cried at the lost chance of having her own family she had dreamed of. Yet she manages to find the one man on earth who understands her, the one man who took her in when she couldn't go much lower and helped her to stand back up and she had become a horny teenager, basically forced herself on the man and then done the impossible and actually gotten herself pregnant? She may never have this chance again so what ever it took she was going to see this through. She steeled her self, she would call the next day with her response.  
She finished off the tissue samples noting the changes as decomp progressed but no new chemical as Sherlock had and by that evening she was exhausted, a pregnancy symptom she was starting to despise.  
"I'm headed out" she turned off her music leaving the man to work in his preferred silence but he didn't acknowledge her as she left.

"Tonight I want you to accompany me, I have something of interest I wish to show you" when Sherlock didn't get an answer he looked around the lab. Her work space was clear and cleaned and her music off so she had not just left but left for the night with out intention of returning. He walked to her scope and touched the base, the bulb there was cool to touch and the distinct smell of chemicals and apples that lingered around her was gone so she had been gone for at the least an hour. He frowned, he had been deep in thought on how to speak with her, John's lesson that he should have provided her a gift as she had given him a rather nice one had bothered him. She had not just given him anything she had captured what gift he would want and appreciate perfectly because it was something she would want herself and she had not just given it to him wrapped in paper and a boring little bow she had him hunt it with strange little puzzles and his gift to her would have to be no less elaborate. However her absence made this a bit more difficult.

Go outside, there is cab there for Sherlock Holmes. Get in-SH he sent a man there to pick her up with the address of where he planned to meet her.

I'm literally three minutes from falling asleep-SM

This is rather important Sorrena-SH

Important enough for me to get dressed and go out at 11-SM she was questioning him now and he sighed.

Please-SH

I'm on my way-SM she couldn't say no but she felt fear grip her, if he knew how angry would he be. She never had reason to fear the lanky man but she was well aware of just how strong he could be when need be. Sherlock smiled at her response and took his own cab to their destination.

When the cab finally pulled up they were outside an abandon building. It was dark and the street as empty.  
"You're sure this is where he said?" She felt like movies had taught her nice girls don't go into places like this and come out alive.  
"Yes ma'am"The cab wasn't particularly friendly and he seemed less then thrilled with the area but the man had given him a hearty bonus for his trouble so he had taken the job despite his concerns. He seemed to consider the woman in his back seat again, she was nervously chewing her lip and she had yet to move at all to get out.  
"If ya don't wanna go I can take ya back closer to the city" he didn't want to find out on the news the next morning he had led the beautiful dark woman to her death, that would land him in prison no doubt.  
"Sherlock said here?" She questioned again.  
"Tall man, crazy head a hair, bit strange?" He tried confirming his employer for the night.  
"That would be him yeah" she sighed, she had really been looking forward to sleep, her hand rested on her lower abdomen for a second but she moved it away quickly.  
"Ok then, this has to be the stupidest thing I have done this week and possibly the second time a Holmes has kidnapped me" she muttered as she pushed her way out of the cab. The driver hesitated before speeding off leaveing her standing in front of the large building. Windows were boarded up and dark. The street lights were only working in some spots leaving large portions of her surroundings shrouded in black. On the door there was a note stuck on the crack of the door. She smiled when she recognized Sherlock's messy scrawl that said nothing but her name. The wind ruffled her hair around her face. She had dressed in a hurry as worry clawed at her managing to slip on her favorite zipper pants and a flowy black shirts that was soft and gossamer. She hadn't had time for jewelry and her hair fell in free gentle waves around her shoulders. Only traces of her usually heavy makeup remained. She pushed the door open and the black flats she wore were quite as she walked through the darkened hallway.  
There was another door at the end of the hall slightly ajar, soft orange light flickered in the opening. She pressed it open gently and gasped. Candles dotted the room in small groupings lining the empty shelves and floor. The flames danced creating an ethereal quality to the space.  
"You came" his voice was quite and his form was hidden in shadow. She couldn't answer still struck by the moment. He stepped forward and Sorrena couldn't remember seeing anything more beautiful. He was in his usual dark slacks, a white button down tucked neatly and a tightly tailored suit jacket buttoned at his waist. His dark hair reflected the flames and the shadows cast across his face defined his sharp nose and cheek bones, soft lips and cool eyes.  
"John has told me as you presented me with a gift I find intriguing and clever that I should bestow on you something you would find equally valuable" he kept moving forward till he was standing in the space at the center of the room that was clear of any obstructions on the floor space.  
"You once asked me to dance with you. I, I do not believe I properly filled your request" he blushed but his eyes didn't break contact. Sorrena fought to not move, to not breath to deeply and wake up from what ever dream this was. He turned for a moment and somewhere the darkness must have hidden a sound system because the soft strains of a violin started.  
"When you are not paying attention I often pickpocket you and steal your music devices. This song is one of the top three played on all of them" he stated factually but her mind wasn't hearing the music she was still to stunned by the whole situation. He held out his hand to her and she hesitated. He frowned and moved further forward taking her hand despite it not being offered. Years of training took hold and she dropped into the proper position. One hand in his the other resting comfortable on his shoulder. His own hand rested comfortable on her waist while the other was warn and soft against her own.

I need another story  
Something to get off my chest  
My life gets kinda boring  
Need something that I can confess

He tugged her into motion moving in a classical waltz style but they were both stiff and uncomfortable. She seemed almost catatonic and he had spent so much of the last few months trying to avoid an psychical contact with the girl who had caused his control to slip that he was fighting himself to allow this.

'Til all my sleeves are stained red  
From all the truth that I've said  
Come by it honestly I swear  
Thought you saw me wink, no  
I've been on the brink, so

She blinked a few times, she could feel herself moving and the music pushing and pulling around her. She could feel his chest hovering only inches from her own his hand touching yet it felt like if she moved to quickly she could slip from his reluctant grip. He didn't want to touch her but he felt obligated to and for the first time and possibly the last time Sorrena reasoned she was going to be selfish.

Tell me what you want to hear  
Something that will light those ears  
Sick of all the insincere  
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away

She pushed herself closer into him, their chests flush and sped up their pace a bit so he would have to hold tighter or be left behind. Her movements where commanding as she took lead despite her position and he worked to follow.

This time don't need another perfect lie  
Don't care if critics ever jump in line  
I'm gonna give all my secrets away

She had always been the leader in their dances. Though she was the female her brother had always been the softer twin even when he was tossing her into the air and catching her to guide her back to earth control had always been hers. She felt like she was back with him again though Sherlock was a little taller she couldn't deny he had some talent and was at the very least keeping up with her though their movements were relatively simple spinning around the room together in mostly sweeping steps.

My God, amazing how we got this far  
It's like we're chasing all those stars  
Who's driving shiny big black cars  
And everyday I see the news  
All the problems that we could solve  
And when a situation rises  
Just write it into an album  
Send it straight to gold  
But I don't really like my flow, no, so

Sherlock could feel her relaxing into their movements but her eyes were distant. His gift was hard to give. He didn't want her day dreaming that she was dancing with her deceased brother this was meant to be the gift of a dance with Sherlock Holmes as she had requested and for that to work he was going to have to take control back. When she went for another step back he didn't follow and the abrupt change jolted her from her thoughts. Her surprise as her gaze locked with his and she became more aware of him made his chest warm and he pulled her away the direction he wanted at the pace he set and she followed willingly.

Tell me what you want to hear  
Something that will light those ears  
Sick of all the insincere  
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away

Sherlock felt their movements and let the lightness of their steps get to his head. She had once said she felt no one ever knew her until they saw her dance but he was finding to really know Sorrena was to dance along side her. It was no wonder the only other human she had bonded with was her brother. She spoke more freely in her dance then he had ever heard her speak aloud.

This time, don't need another perfect lie  
Don't care if critics ever jump in line  
I'm gonna give all my secrets away

The turn of her feet and the lines of her arms spoke of a sadness. She was sad but Sherlock still understood so little of sentiment that it was frustrating. He imagined the last person who had moved with her in such a way had then left her and he couldn't form the words to tell her that he would leave her as well. She was now an important part of his makeshift family. A network of trusted associates that he would not allow for himself to damage it beyond repair, he would not leave her behind. John would call it love but he simply couldn't call it that.

Oh, got no reason, got no shame  
Got no family I can blame  
Just don't let me disappear  
I'ma tell you everything

She felt the tears as they threatened to spill but she used force of willpower to hold them back. She put her sadness into the dance. Trying to forget the man that was holding her, the strong solid frame of warmth that she was draped across was the very reason she had to leave.

So tell me what you want to hear  
Something that will light those ears  
Sick of all the insincere  
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away

She felt herself shutting back into herself already. Relying less on Lestrade, speaking less to Molly, confessing less to John. She would have to cut off all contact with this life for her next because they would no doubt tell Sherlock she was carrying his kid. She was doing everything to ignore the man. Her lies had once worked when he believed she was Jack, she would simply need to be Jack again.

This time, don't need another perfect lie  
Don't care if critics ever jump in line  
I'm gonna give all my secrets away

This was one night of selfishness for her. She dropped her head against his chest breathing in the familiar scent, it was comforting to her. She could feel his heart beat steadily against her and she let that become the beat she was following instead of the music that still surrounded them. He stiffened in the contact but as he to took in her smell, the feel of her skin under his finger tips and the sadness she radiated he softened to her and his chin rested on the top of her head.

So tell me what you want to hear  
Something that will light those ears  
Sick of all the insincere  
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away

He had tried his hardest to plan the perfect night, everything was researched. Women would enjoy the darkness, the candle light, the music was obviously one of her favorites, she loved her art and had asked this of him yet he felt like this was hurting her more then it should.

This time, don't need another perfect lie  
Don't care if critics ever jump in line  
I'm gonna give all my secrets away  
All my secrets away, all my secrets away

She knew the song so well that she could hear the ending coming and his choice of song seemed almost to much for her. She was hiding such a terrible wonderful secret from him and here he was practically begging her to spill hers and she had only just hardened herself to the choice she had made. A tear slipped free and as the final strains of the song ended she stepped back out of his embrace.  
"I did it wrong" he sounded so disappointed in himself. He had obviously tried so hard.  
"No, you did it perfectly. I have never gotten a better gift but we can't do this anymore Sherlock. This is a mistake and I don't want you to pretend to be something you aren't just to keep me around. I will go back to being the lab jockey and you will go back to being the consulting detective" she felt the pain, the lies of her own words.  
"I do not believe our friendship has changed those things" he scrunched his brow confused. He had been following her cues. She had allowed the friendship, she had accepted his quirks, she had offered her secrets, she had asked for him that night and now he was trying to show her it might be something he was willing to experiment with and she was the one pulling back. He felt hurt and oddly hollow. She didn't have an answer as she left. He moved mechanically putting out the candles and moving through the streets till he found a taxi to take him back to Baker Street. John was still awake when he got there despite the late hour.  
"Have you been out on a case all night?" John asked as the dark haired man shed his coat and scarf. Sherlock scowled, he was in no mood to talk but John could be annoyingly insistent.  
"Yes, but I have the answers I need now so I will be sleeping for the next few hours"  
"Oh, yeah, of course" John didn't press any further as the consulting detective pulled his door shut. He laid out on the bed in silence and settled into his mind palace, there would be no sleep till he could figure out the mystery of Sorrena Celeste Macotii.

John smiled at Jack as she rushed into the corner bakers she had asked him out to. A year ago he would have been fighting her to eat while she worked and he brought the two geniuses food in the lab but lately she seemed to eating more often if Molly was right about her leaving everyday to get lunch and munching on snacks in the lab when she got the chance. He was honestly proud of her so when she called asking to meet up for food in the middle of his work day he had made a rather quick get away, dumping his work on a few of the other doctors while he was away. He didn't feel to bad it had been a rather light day and it wasn't to uncommon for him, following Sherlock onto cases was rarely scheduled. She looked rushed and flustered and maybe a little tired but she looked happy. With a smile and a wave she made it over to him. She dropped into the seat across from him where a chicken sandwich and her favorite soup was waiting.  
"I'm so sorry about that. We just got a case in and I got a little buried" she apologized.  
"Sherlock on this one?" It had been a bit of change when she first started joining them on cases but John didn't mind the break occasionally he still got more then enough adventure to keep him in enough trouble to satisfy him.  
"Hm, not yet. Lestrade thinks it just a domestic gone wrong. Husband is looking good for the murder. Wouldn't be more then a four honestly." John laughed. They both ate for a bit before John finally broached the subject.  
"You wanted to talk?" He asked. Neither Sherlock nor Jack had mentioned each other but John got the feeling something had changed between them. Her smile faltered a little but she locked it back into place. She had been working the last week since her call with the Jeffersonian accepting the position to look as happy as possible smiling all the time, playing happy music, dancing around with as much enthusiasm as her tired body would allow so when she made her announcement the lies would look real.  
"So don't be mad, please please please don't be mad" she begged.  
"Oh god you and Sherlock finally did it" her eyes got wide and she paled.  
"Wh, what" she sputtered, this was not going well if John had already guessed it.  
"I keep telling people I'm not gay, were not together. It's great that you two finally got over your stuff, finally a couple" John looked so happy and Sorrena looked terrified John watched her for a moment.  
"I, I didn't guess that right did I?" John blushed embarrassed. She swallowed thickly and shook her head rearranging her thoughts.  
"I, no, um not exactly" she hated this, the lies felt horrible now that she learned what great people these new friend were when she gave them the truth.  
"Jack I'm so sorry" John felt terrible. But she smiled and she looked genuinely happy.  
"I was offered a position at the Jeffersonian institute as their lead forensic chemist" she looked every ounce as happy as she should.  
"Wow Jack that amazing" John tried to look overly happy for her to make up for his embarrassment before.  
"I have no idea what that means" he admitted and she laughed.  
"They are amazing, they want to help me finish my doctorate and they have all they newest technologies. They promote scientific exploration while assisting in solving high profile murder investigations. I will be working with the leaders of their fields. Forensic anthropology, botany, biology, psychology, forensic technical engineering, one guy there even specializes in identifications of particulates from both flora, fauna, and man made" She gushed.  
"Jack that would be great for you, and you're considering their offer?" She dropped her head a little, the pieces of hair that had escaped her wild bun now hung in front of her face and she took a deep breath.  
"Actually I already accepted. I put in my two weeks at the yard and they want me to start moving by stuff by the end of the week so I can start right away"  
"Move?" John was confused.  
"Yeah, the Jeffersonian is in DC" Jack took a nonchalant sip from her drink and waited for the reaction.  
"DC? As in the States?" John looked devastated but he tried to hide it as soon as he saw her guilty expression. She was trying to do some thing good for herself and he could ruin that.  
"I'm, I'm not mad but I will miss you Jack. You are my friend and I want this for you" he smile trying to reassure her.  
"After all it's not like you're running away" John laughed and came around the table to hug her. Sorrena tried not to burst into hysterical sobs. Sherlock thought this man was unobservant but he was guessing with uncomfortable accuracy for it to be coincidence. When they settled back down to eat John tried to make conversation.  
"Have you told him yet then?" They both knew who he meant.  
"Um, no, not really. I mean he was a little focused on his work and stuff when I left and so" she trailed off. She still couldn't bring herself to lie to him again. One giant lie seemed like enough all the little ones seemed unnecessary plus she was pretty sure he already knew having caught the tail end of her talking to Lestrade and no doubt deducing the situation from her and the DI.  
"He probably knows anyway" Sorrena explained.  
"He would want to hear it from you Jack" she sighed heavily. She know John was talking about this job and the move but all her mind could think about was the life she was keeping him from. From being forced to be a father to be something he had never, and would never want if her read on him and his brothers insistence on the matter were any indication.  
"No John, he wouldn't" she whispered to herself. They finished their meals in a silence that was uncommon for the rather excitable girl and her doctor friend. John hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead but didn't say anything when they parted. She snuck into the lab and into her work blanking her mind. The consulting detective noted her return just as he had her departure but said nothing.  
Judging by the crumbs on the shirt and the light indents where she had been holding a spoon for awhile she had consumed her favorite meal of a sandwich and soup. She was slightly out of breath and her cheeks red from the wind so she had walked to her favorite dinner that was within walking distance and the sandy blonde hairs sticking to her coat were no doubt Johns so they had met for lunch. She had invited him because if John had initiated the meeting he would have insisted Sherlock join them as he seemed unaware of their tension and Sherlock had no intention of telling the doctor about his failed gift or their sexual encounter months previous. Her eyes were slightly reddened so she had invited John to lunch to tell him about her departure. Sherlock had done his research the moment he had heard about it. The position would do her good but he wouldn't lie to himself he felt betrayed by her choice to leave him behind. He couldn't shake the feeling she was running again and this time he was the cause.

Soreena walked through her flat fingers tracing over the boxes stacked around her. Mycroft's men certainly moved quickly. They had carefully packed away her whole life in labeled boxes, every article cataloged. She sighed and she once again found her hand drifting back to her middle and feeling over the space where their child, no her child, she scolded herself, would grow. He could never know, he wouldn't want to be involved. Mycroft kept drilling those words into her, caring was not an advantage for Sherlock, sentiment could get him killed and she could not be the reason another life ended.

How, how did this end up being my longest chapter...I have no words for that. So Sorrena is running agian, telling lies to her loved ones and maybe even more so to herself. Mycroft is getting to her and making her believe things that may not be real. Will Sherlock figure it out or is about to loose something he didn't even know he had. I think Sherlock knows love exists he just doesn't understand what to label love. I mean come on he loves John, he was willing to die for him but he doesn't consider that love so I think what he has with Sorrena is love but he doesn't know to label it that. So if you don't know what the Jeffersonian is it's from the tv show Bones, sorry, it's another favorite of mine. The song was Secrets by One Republic, so yeah. Next time we might see some fireworks, maybe a little resolve with a side of whip cream and mixed nuts... Ok then. Please tell me what ya think, thank you, thank you, thank you SH Ships Sherlock for all your words they really help me wrote faster and with more passion!

-Thieves


	20. Chapter 20

This chapter is going to be shorter, I'm saying that now in hopes that it will be true. The last chapter was strangely the longest. So Sorrena is about to restart her life for the second time. I would love to hear from people about what they think. I'm loving SH ships Sherlock right now. You are keeping me going so I might just give you a say in how some of this story ends, whatcha think? Anywho, I'm moving forward in hopes to move forward, upward and onward I guess. Thanks for making it this far.

Disclaimer: Own nothing I do...

Preview: As I may have mentioned in the last chapter, fireworks and some resolve.

Sherlock looked around his home away from home. The lab was in silence for the first time in years the sound system had been removed. Everything was neat and properly stored no extra equipment out, no samples of tissue or chemical concoctions to rival his own. He couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that it was wrong. Everything in the room had become a reminder of the friend he was going to lose. He should have known taking their relationship outside of the fantasy stage his mind often created both in his sleep and when he allowed his conscious mind to wander would end in disappointment and destruction. John insisted that the night she was to depart she come to 221b to celebrate with the friends she would leave behind and Sherlock was made well aware of the consequences of his absence from all individuals involved. Even Mrs. Hudson had threatened to stop bringing him his tea so as the hour approached he packed in his space and left for his flat.

"I feel like our little girl grew up and is heading off to college" Lestrade dramatically swept his hand under his eyes and the two women with him laughed as he took another swig from his beer. John watched everyone around him it was like a play as everyone was sad while acting as if this was some kind of joyous celebration like it should have been. Alcohol was flowing Molly and Mrs. Hudson sat gossiping while Lestrade joined in every so often, he seemed to be taking his techs decision to go hard, soft music was playing in honor of their friend yet two people seemed to be missing, the guest of honor and his flat mate. Sherlock was the first missing guest to arrive only half an hour late he pulled off his coat and scarf but as he went to hang it on the rack on the back of their door it suddenly swung inward hitting him sharply in the face knocking him to the floor. Everyone was stunned in still silence as the door pushed in the rest of the way to reveal the last guest dark clothing hidden under her newest emerald green peacoat and rainbow scarf. Hair swinging around her face in a high pony tail and makeup dark she looked confused by the doors resistance. Josh was the first to recover rushing over to help the groaning man on the floor, he was dazed and blood leaked from a cut over his eye brow where the door had caught him.  
"Oh my god, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" Sorrena dropped down beside them and pulled off her scarf pressing it to his head while Sherlock sat up. He leaned into the contact till the caught her smell of chemicals and apples and pulled away. She frowned and John tried to help her by taking a closer look, he pulled a pen light from his pocket and directed the mans face towards his.  
"Look at me" he ordered like a proper doctor he shown the light into each eye checking for concussion.  
"Just a cut" he concluded finally pulling the man the rest of the way up, he was still holding her scarf to the wound.  
"Mrs. Hudson could you grab me a clean towel?" John asked pulling the rainbow stripped material away and handing it back to Sorrena who was still quite. The older women scurried in to the kitchen and quickly returned.  
"Well I think this is a clean one dear but it's a right mess in there" John smiled and tossed the cloth over, Sherlock blotted at the blood still oozing from the fresh wound.  
"Hold pressure, it will stop faster" John instructed, Sherlock scowled but did as he was told trusting the doctors word.  
"Where were you then?" John finally moved to hug the women of the hour then helping her out of her own coat.  
"Like I said so sorry about that. Took me a bit longer to get all the exit paper work done for my flat, or I guess I can start saying apartment again" she joked.  
"Wrong, you hoped to avoid the emotional displays this meeting would no doubt lead to as you are still suffering from mental fractures from the death of your twin brother. You are running before anyone here has the chance to leave you like he did when he removed himself from you by committing suicide. Your paper work has been prepared for three day but you have yet to turn it in until the last thirty minutes. There is no ink staining your hands or black printer ink residue on the edge of your hand that would come with signing paper work. You did how ever have tea in your former residences office less the twenty minutes ago before leaving judging by the smell of it on your breath so you are late because you chose to be, if you had intended to be on time which for you is always early you would have been so." Sherlock deduced quickly scanning her quickly. There was a sharp intake of breath and he smirked only he and John knew about Garrathin.  
She was breathing in and out audibly trying to keep in her anger. This would be her last hour with him before she would have to leave for the air port and she would not let him ruin it. She did just like she had in her first meeting with him, just like she would do with a miss behaving child. She ignored him.  
"So I got to video chat with my new team. I was going to be starting next week but they got a new case today and wanted to know if I could come in sooner" she smiled and let everyone have a second several were still reeling from Sherlock outing one of her biggest and most intimate secrets.  
"I, that's great Jack, they, ah, they seem eager" Lestrade stuttered and tired to meet her eyes. All the things, the depression, the sadness, the dramatic changes. Her psych evals said a traumatic lose but never elaborated.  
"Yeah, one of the women I will be working with, she has to be one of the most amazing women I have ever met, she is a world renowned Forensic Anthropologist, she can tell more from bones then most people can from a living breathing person" She was gushing trying to pull everyone into her conversation and forget the now pouting detective.  
"How soon is soon?" John asked  
"Oh, well, I guess technically tomorrow" She played with the edge of her shirt which was looser then her normal garments.  
"Jack, are you going to be good for that. The last time you jumped time zones it took you two weeks to get it together" John was concerned.  
"Yeah, no, it will be great. I'm not sick and I'm not spending a few weeks with my parents before it. Come on John you have seen me go a week with out more then an hour of sleep" she tried to reassure him.  
"Not recently" John commented. He had been rather proud to realize she had started to listen to him and sleep regularly, never staying in the lab for more then one night at a time in the last two weeks and eating on a semi regularly schedule.  
"Well then I'm more then prepared for this. Apparently they need me" She smiled and everyone but the dark haired man child curled up in his chair joined her.  
"So your new team they look good then?" Lestrade assured himself this was what she needed.  
"Yeah. They were super nice on the chat" she understood his misgiving about her move but he didn't understand just how much she needed it.  
"They know about your music habits?" Her old boss joked. She nervously laughed biting her lip. She hadn't exactly explained that particular part of her process to her new boss. Lestrade reached under his chair and handed over a box wrapped in dark paper.  
"The whole yard chipped in, figured you could use to remember your old team" he smiled warmly as she took it from him. When she pulled back the paper she found a new pair of head phones, heavy and flat black.  
"It's perfect" she felt her eyes water and cursed hormones.  
"We, well we will always have a place for you" Lestrade cleared his throat when his voice got thick. Molly jumped out of her seat and hugged the dark haired girl.  
"I, I can never thank you enough, I just can't" the little pathologist sniffles and hugged tighter.  
"I'm so sorry about Sherlock, and your brother, I mean I'm sorry that he brought that up, and that he's dead, I mean" she stuttered and Sorrena pushed her away a bit. Tears raced down the mossy haired women's face and she sniffles again. Sorrena cocked a brow in amusement and smirked. She had prepared herself for days today she would have to be tough old Jack again granted knocking Sherlock on his ass with a door had thrown her for a second she had her game face back on of indifference and sarcasm.  
"Oh I'm rubbish at this" Molly apologized.  
"No, it's great Mols" She settled into a chair their group sitting together just talking away her time while the sociopath sat sulking, an outlier watching them all interact.  
She was being distant with everyone. Not making eye contact for more then needed no initiating any physical contact, making snarky comments and inappropriate jokes. The bags with her were left down stairs only her messenger bag and a light carry on. His blue grey eyes never left her but he didn't say a word, she never glanced his way. There was a beeping sound from deep in her satchel and all the conversation died.  
"I, that's my cue" her voice was hollow as she stood. Everyone embraced her one last time and in her head she gave them her final good byes she couldn't say aloud with out drawing suspicion to herself. She thanked Lestrade for giving her chance, for seeing something in her other may have never wanted to see. She thanked Molly for showing her she could have friends, that others could be let in and they could make her stronger even if it meant they could also tear you down. She thanked Mrs. Hudson for putting up with the men in her life and giving them a home and her amazing tea that she would certainly miss in the states. She thanked John for the shoulder he was to cry on, for caring for her and treating her wounds, for all the times he brought her something to eat when she forgot or pulling her out of the lab and forcing her to sleep, she thanked him for watching over Sherlock, for keeping him safe and for loving the insufferable man enough to put up with it all. She stepped back, the only one left was Sherlock and he made no move to stand. His eyes were cold and his face hard as stone, his posture ridged. She sighed, there was nothing she could say when there was so much she couldn't tell him. Her eyes were cloudy but she forced the film of hears back.  
"Guess they will need you now more then ever then Zombie boy" she smiled sadly at the family she had found, that she was leaving and turned and left. Molly broke down and Lestrade put an arm over her shoulder drawing the little women in. John watched from the window as his friend got into the cab and drove off into the night to catch her flight. The atmosphere was depressing now more so then before, no one was trying to pretend to be happy anymore, they were all grieving in their own way.

Sorrena sat in the cab watching London pass her by for what would very likely be the last time. She should feel happy she was on her way to the top of her carrier, she had come to terms with her brothers death, she had made good with her parents, she had new friends though she was leaving them so she chose to ignore that, she had a team in the states who looked promising. Her hands found her stomach the slight bulge, really just a tightness in her lower abdomen where her baby was growing, she was going to have a child despite everything that had happened in her life that had made it seem so unlikely. She smiled and let her head rest against the window.

I'm coming home  
I'm coming home  
tell the World I'm coming home  
Let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday  
I know my kingdom awaits and they've forgiven my mistakes  
I'm coming home, I'm coming home  
tell the World I'm coming

She sang softly to her self an old song she had always found comforting. Her fingers moved as if moving over the keys of a piano.  
"You got a good voice ma'am. You a singer?" The cabbie asked. Sorrena smiled at the lights rushing past her.  
"Once upon a time ago but not anymore" Sorrena answered brushing away a few tears that had some how broken ranks.  
"Voice like that, shouldn't waste a talent like that" he seemed displeased with her answer. Sorrena laughed humorously.  
"I use to get that a lot" they fell into silence again.

The people around him were talking, reminiscing about times with Jack, it was all so tedious. His mind was giving him fact and deductions but every time he would get close to stringing them together their noise would cause it to slip through his fingers. He was growing irritated and when Lestrade shared a tale, the story if the first time he met Jack and they all laughed it snapped his patience.  
"ENOUGH" he shouted and silence fell.  
"I am trying to think. Don't make a noise, don't move, don't breath if you can help it" his hands on either side of his head to help him focus his eyes squeezed shut.  
"No" John stepped forward.  
"No, you were horrible to her. You're horrible to everyone but her. I thought you loved her you know. Thought hell if any women could worm their way into that chunk of ice in your chest it would be Jack. You helped her and then you let her walk out that door tonight with out a word" he hissed and snarled and lunged for the man but Lestrade caught him.  
"I was not the one who chose to leave" Sherlock was monotone and the effect was chilling. Sherlock closed his eyes again and there was silence. He pulled up ever detail he could about Sorrena Celeste Macotii. He brushed aside anything that had an emotional connotation and looked at the hard facts.  
She had trained as a dancer for the majority of her childhood, adolescent, and into her adult life. She trained along side her twin but had been alienated from the rest of her peers due to their partner ship. She had fled to London upon her brothers suicide to pursue a career in chemistry and forensics science she was successful and brought into the yard. He moved forward on the time line, this was something more recent. She had nearly died when he made a mistake, she had still allowed a friendship to form after the event. She had a mental meltdown due to her guilt over her twins demise which he had witnessed but she had allowed him to continue to see her. He had done everything to assist in her recovery and she had allowed him in turn to know her secrets. Everything he had ever done she had always allowed him her forgiveness.  
They could share lab space comfortably, had worked together on cases. He knew she preferred spicier teas, her favorite color was green despite her love for black, she had a play list for every possible mood she could be in and could keep up with his own non existent sleep and eat schedule, but something had changed, she no longer followed that pattern. She now slept more often, was tired more easily, she made sure to eat daily though often light meals as anything heavy upset her stomach. But what caused a deviation, she had left for home and returned from America. She had recounted that she had made up with her mother, rebonded with her father and visited her brothers grave but these had not seemed to show signs of being the stressor and she had mentioned being just as restless and hungry while away so it was even earlier then that. The only notable event close to that was their sexual intercourse.  
He ignored the event itself focusing on before and after. He knew she had not had a sexual partner in just under a year before the night and prior to that only one night stands as she was no doubt uncomfortable in relationships having not gained experience in that area as a teenager due to her career at the time. He remembered her asking him, the way she said his name breathy, needy, just like he often found himself dreaming of. After she had practically ran from him but their working relationship had continued after thought there had been some awkwardness at first it had not seemed lacking. So why had having intercourse with him led her to being tired, hungry, distant, and willing to run across the world with out any obvious signs of ever intending to return or even associate with them. It was there in the way she had interacted. Why would she willingly leave her friends?  
He knew from experience she had very little inclination for self preservation she after all kept company with him willingly. Sherlock put himself in her shoes. The only reason he had ever left John was to save his life so perhaps she was being threatened. There was no one in the yard who disliked her enough to go after her violently, no one fighting for her job. She had be important in solving a lot of cases but if it was a criminal they would more likely go after a more key player and a more televised player such as Lestrade or himself. The only person who did not approve of her was his brother but after several years of friendship unless something had happened after their sex in the lab but before her trip home to cause his brother to become more insistent in her remove.

He was getting frustrated his hands pulled at his dark curls and he pressed further his face scrunched everyone watched him breathing quietly and saying nothing.

What had changed? He ran it over it over an agian until a detail he kept over looking popped up. They had had unprotected sex, he knew her medical records her chance of conception were very slim due to the removal of the majority of her ovaries from painful ovarian cysts and with that fact along with the fact she had no other partners in a year he could assume she would not have been on birth control as she would have seen no need. The time from their encounter till when she returned from her trip would have been two months, the average time it would take for the symptoms of a pregnancy to appear. Symptoms such as exhaustion, increased appetite, nausea, swelling of the extremities. Only in the last week, another month since their time together and she had begun to wear looser clothing. The promotion to across the pond had been sudden but she had readily taken it. She had distanced herself from their friends because she would have to cut contact to ensure they would never know and in turn he would not find out. Her move had taken less then two weeks to organize, fast for a girl who hadn't been looking for a new job. This had his brothers name written all over, he had been so stupid. Before his mind could expand on just how angry with his brother he should be his mind snapped one very important deduction. Sorrena Celeste Macotii was pregnant and the only logical answer as to the father would be himself. He gasped and froze his eyes wide and mouth gaping. Inside his head warning bells were blaring and he was going into overdrive outside all they saw was his eyes pop open and him make a quite exclamation of oh.  
"Sherlock?" John tried to rouse him as his friend stood absolutely still eyes wide expression fixed in shock.  
"Sherlock?" John tried again  
"Well now that's just getting scary" John comments but the stillness was fractured as the man jumped into action by vaulting over the table and scrambling for his coat.  
"Where the bloody hell are you going?" John yelled after him as he raced down the stairs, John managed to snag his jacket as he followed.  
"To stop Sorrena from making a terrible mistake"Sherlock explained still gasping for air.  
"What makes you think she is making a bad decision?" John certainly wasn't happy she was leaving but it would be beneficial for her for sure And the consulting had not made any indication of his disapproval of her move until she had already left.  
"Because she has been listening to my brother" Sherlock answered slamming the cab shut behind him and ordering the fastest route to the airport possible. John was left in the cold forced to retreat back to his flat where everyone else still stood stunned.

Sherlock ran through the airport searching for her. He started to panic when he couldn't find her. If his brother really did have his hand in this she would have been quickly moved through security, when he tried to push through and officers went to stop him he flashed Lestrade's pilfered ID and they moved for him. He ran quickly through his mind palace for companies who would have flights leaving for D.C. at this hour going strait to the airport there. He quickly pulled up the information on his phone. International airline had one flight leaving in twenty minutes from gate twelve. He checked around him to find he was near gate three and he took off running. People around him gave him mean glares and rude gestures as he pushed them out of his way. His long legs an advantage when he managed to skid into gate.  
"Sorrena" he yelled and he spotted her emerald coat, her dark hair was stuck under her new head phones, eyes shut, red and puffy from crying as she drowned her self in her music. He chose to simply climb over the two rows of seats between them and roughly pulled the headphones off.  
"What the hell" she screeched grabbing for them till she recognized him and her eyes got wide. She looked scared. Chest heaving from his frantic run and actually having her in front of him now knowing the truth he felt his mouth go dry.  
"Um, hi?" She looked sheepish.  
"You were going to leave" it was not a question but she had never really come out and told him she simple knew that he knew, they had not talked in some time.  
"That was the plan yes" she still looked startled.  
"With out telling me about the child?" His eyes hardened.  
"I, yes" She looked down ashamed. He now had his answer at the very least. This was why she was leaving, why she had grown distant and revert into herself once more.  
"Mycroft" Sherlock muttered angrily. He dropped into the seat next to her.  
"You did not think I should have been the first to know you were carrying my child?" Sorrena tried not to feel the happiness that warmed her when he called it his.  
"I didn't even get to be the first to know thanks to that asshat of a brother you have" She remembered bitterly. He had robbed her of the initial joy that should have come with the news.  
"He convinced you to leave" Sherlock deduced.  
"I, no. He offered me the chance. I know you Sherlock. I couldn't risk being the reason you fell" Sherlock knew her enough to understand her logic. Mycroft would have her convinced she would cause his demise. He would have manipulated her by using her past in his favor.  
"You think very little of me if you think having a child would cause me to revert to my addiction" he sneered.  
"It's more then that Sherlock. It would give people ammunition against you. Anyway how could I know. We don't talk, not like this. I don't know where I rate on your scale of value, I don't know what you think about children let alone ever having any of your own because as you constantly remind every damn person you're married to your work" Sherlock sighed, this was never going to be something he could do but he had to try or lose her now. He made sure to have her eyes locked with his before he spoke carefully.  
"Since I met you you have become an important part of my life. You have valuable skills in the lab which have proved invaluable while on cases along with a very impressive skill in deception and at first I found I thought of you as an associate. The day you died while I stood over your body. While John pumped your heart and I blew air into your lungs I was forced to face the fact that you had become a friend. My body is nothing but transport to me yet it craved you and I found this to be an annoyance but nothing more until my brain betrayed me as well. Every detail about you stored in my mind palace like your least favorite color, your preferred order of eating the food off your plate, the distance between your thumb and pointer finger on your left hand. Pointless information that would normally be deleted in leu of more valuable substance yet my mind clung to them. Let them haunt my dreams and became a comfort zone my mind would fall to in times of boredom. I fought it and as such often fought you because I believed the improbability of you feeling the same until the night in the lab. All the men I had seen and heard of from Molly had made me feel jealousy. It made me want to keep you to myself and I did not understand it until the first time you kissed me and for the first time my mind was silent. Then after, I had observed how you operated, I knew your sexual partners never lasted more then a night and did not want you to feel an obligation to me because we lived in close quarters" Sherlock tried to explain, his voice soft and deep.  
"You thought I wanted a one night stand?" she interrupted.  
"All other men you had relations with no matter their attractiveness, intelligence, or prowess in bed never held your attention for more then that time" Sherlock seemed confused when she laughed a little.  
"Sherlock I never stayed with anyone because when I was with them I kept comparing them to you. I thought it was some silly childish crush until other guys stopped being arousing all together" she explained and he felt his chest swell with pride.  
"I do not want you to leave" Sherlock admitted.  
"I don't want to leave but I don't want to force you to do this Sherlock. I didn't think you wanted a kid figured you would find them dull or tedious"  
"I will admitted I have never considered the possibility but simply because I never foresaw a person who would draw my interest in such a way" she blushed at his compliment.  
"I, I am not like other people. I am not affectionate, I am not considerate, I am rude to everyone, I am cold and often uncaring if not unfeeling but I do not want you to leave. I find that I would be unhappy in my life with out you in it and though only knowing of for roughly an hour now I can already not imagine the thought of my offspring existing with out my invloment" Sorrena felt a sob bubble up as tears fell.  
"I've done something wrong" Sherlock searched her expression franticly. She shook her head no and smiled so he tried to continue.  
"John believes I am capable of love but I am inclined to disagree however I feel affection for you, I constantly wish to protect you even from your self and the situations in your life that make you feel unhappy, I wish to provide for you and be the reason you feel said happiness, I simply want to be in your presence, I enjoy hearing your thoughts and find comfort in simple things as the smell of you and your routine when it aligns with my own and I feel my life would incomplete with out you" he took a few deep breaths.  
"I would like to experiment with being in what would be considered in our terms a relationship and assist you in the rearing of our child should you wish it" Sorrena smiled she could never resist a good experiment. She leaned forward her hands delicately cupping either side of the mans face she was gentle in her kiss and when they met softly he was responsive to her moving gently with her till she pulled back. He was still unsure of her response.  
"Are you still going to leave?" He asked. She smiled mischievously.  
"I'm sure you can deduce my answer" she responded leaning in to kiss him again. She could feel him smiling against her lips.

They rode in the cab comfortably Sherlock's fingers grazed her arm every so often as he reminded himself she had not in fact ran away.  
"I, I don't have anywhere to live anymore" Sorrena broke the silence.  
"Nonsense you can stay at Baker Street" Sherlock answered.  
"And where exactly will I be sleeping?" She already knew his answer she just wanted the satisfaction of hearing him say it.  
"In my bed"  
"With you?" She tired to hide her smile.  
"I don't sleep often but I imagine when I do yes" she nodded at the logic of it.  
"The, the fetus it's healthy?" He questioned nervously.  
"Well, yeah. I mean I was suppose to set up to see a OB/GYN when I got to D.C. My regular physician said everything looks great so far." Sherlock smile. His offspring was doing well. She gently took his hand and guided it to her stomach placing her hand down over it so he could feel its tightness. He gasped at the sensation as it suddenly became a little more real.  
"I never thought this could happen" She whispered and he surprised her by initiating a kiss for the first time.  
"I find that I am happy that it did" they shared a smile and settled closer together his hand still resting on her abdomen aimlessly tracing circles with his finger tips.

And I did it! I made a chapter that was actually shorter when I said it was going to be! Well now, Sherlock figured it out and his deduction stopped her from making a mistake. So they are going to try it out. What will everyone think, especially John, who is going to flip out when they realize they thought nothing was going on between the two of them and how long before they tell everyone Sherlock knocked up Jack? So there is a alternate ending that involves this chapter that I will be posting when this story ends just because I already knew how this story would go but I wanted the sick satisfaction of writing what would happen if she had left. Please tell me what you think particularly about Sherlock opening up and being honest. I thought of it as a bit of his own version of a trade. She told her life story and he never repaid her with his own extreme honesty. Any who, please please please review.

-Thieves


	21. Chapter 21

So this story was suppose to have twenty chapters, then I got a little mad and had to split a bunch of chapters so they didn't get crazy and now here I am on chapter 21...but I am by no means complaining. I have been dragging my heels again on this chapter because I have a few parts I love and a few parts I'm still a bit fuzzy on so I keep waiting for them to come to me which they are to some extent. Thank you so much to everyone that has reviewed. It means so much to me with all your words. I am considering a beta, letting them at this story when it's done then reporting so by all means let me know if you want to try and I will look into it. A million thanks to you all, now I attempt to continue.

Disclaimer: I once knew a girl who said she owned Sherlock...she was never seen again...

Preview: All I know is Mycroft better watch his back because Sherlock hates when people touch his things...

John came down the stairs the next morning determined, he needed to talk to Sherlock about what had happened. The man had known Irene Adler for months when she had faked her death and it had hit him rather hard if the sad music and moping was anything to go by and he had simply been intrigued by her cleverness. Jack had been a friend to both of them and if there was nothing going on somewhere in there between the two then he was the king of France. He wasn't going to give the consulting detective a chance to stop this conversation from happening. Just as he expected Sherlock was distracting himself from emotions he didn't want to deal with by working on some experiment, head bent over the microscope.  
"Sherlock we need to talk and I don't want to hear any thing from you till I'm done got that, nothing Sherlock" John was already getting worked up as he paced a bit while he talked.  
"Jack's gone Sherlock and we need to talk about that. I don't want to hear your shit about not caring because you care Sherlock, you cared a lot about that girl. You are the most human person and I know you are feeling her lose. I know she's not dead she is just moved but I know you. You're going to start acting like she's dead, like she was never here at all but she was and I know that means something to you" John's voice rose even higher. In front of him sitting at the microscope Sorrena looked stunned but she was to surprised to stop him now she looked to Sherlock who was standing at the other side of the kitchen and he shrugged.  
"Between the two of you I don't know who was worse all the damn heated looks and god damn undertones it was like watching some kind of messed up soap opera. You could of had something with that girl if you had opened your bloody eyes" the toast popped and Sherlock pulled them both onto a plate.  
When they had gotten in at the early hours the next morning Sherlock had finally talked her into staying in 221b until they figured it all out. She had been exhausted when they rode home she had drifted off her head lightly resting on his shoulder, not wanting to wake her he scooped her up and carried her carefully into his room tucking her into his bed. She looked so natural there among his things but when she had grabbed onto his wrist as he tried to leave, still deep in her sleep yet still aware he was leaving her side he couldn't find it in him to remove her fingers so he settled into bed beside her to think. He would need to start research he only knew the fundamentals of pregnancy but this could be an experiment in itself to monitor the growth of a fetus and it's effects on its mother. An exciting prospect to gain new information that could prove helpful but he couldn't entirely divorce himself from the fact that this was his child growing inside his Sorrena.  
He had discovered that morning just how many of her symptoms she had been hiding from him when she had one moment been sleeping soundly curled lightly at his side the next she had shoot out of the bed and made a mad dash from the bathroom where she emptied the meager contents of her stomach loudly. He waited for her to return to his room and when she did she still looked a little green. He ushered her into the kitchen offering to make her some toast, a remedy for her sickness he had discovered during his research while she slept and she agreed to check an anomaly he had found in a sliver of human lung that he could not account for when John had stormed in and had not really taken notice of either of them.  
"If you're done John we have a case" Sherlock had been reviewing cases for days in anticipation of needing a distraction from the loss of the women who had held his interest for so long despite the surprise of getting to keep her he still needed work. John spun to face the man while he handed over the toast.  
"No Sherlock I'm not letting you throw yourself into work, not this time. I know you bloody feel something" John shouted at him. Sorrena quirked a brow at the doctor.  
"John you are being exceptionally slow this morning. This is exactly the reason I say emotions hold no value in an investigation if you can not see the the obvious in front of you" Sherlock snapped.  
"Obvious, I will give you" John's words stopped suddenly when his eyes widened and he took in the girl sitting at their table dressed in a loose shirt and sweat pants, hair a mess and nibbling on the edge of slice of toast. His face turned red as he watched her eyes dart between the two men.  
"Surprise?" Sorrena sounded unsure of how to address the whole situation. John was breathing heavily trying to understand how this made any sense.  
"What?"  
"That's not a proper question John" Sherlock reprimanded and Sorrena rolled her eyes at him. John jumped to the other side of the table so quickly and pulled the smaller women into his arms that she squeaked and dropped her breakfast.  
"You're, you're not leaving then?" John wasn't entirely sure what this meant but something had changed for sure. Before she could respond Sherlock did for her.  
"I have offered her residence here, I assumed it would be no trouble with you as you obviously did not want her absence either" Sherlock watched her carefully as she returned to her seat and frowned at the toast that had landed in the remnants of the lung he had dissected. He wasn't sure if she was saddened by the loss of her breakfast or ruining the sample.  
"You, you asked her to live with you?" John wanted to hear it from the detectives own mouth.  
"I asked her to live with us" He corrected.  
"And she said yes as long as it won't bother John and only until she finds her own place again if anyone wanted to know what she said" Sorrena interrupted sarcastically. John laughed, his smile bright and wide.  
"I would prefer if you stayed near as it makes for better testing and easier monitoring" Sherlock countered still unhappy with the agreement.  
"Testing?" John questioned.  
"Yes John we are experimenting with being in an relationship" Sherlock made it sound like it had been obvious but even after years of joking about it it was quite a shock.  
"You're in a relationship? With Jack?" John tried to comprehend what exactly had happened. Sherlock didn't even bother to answer.  
"Since when do you date?" John asked  
"We are not dating we are experimenting with being two adult individuals who exclusively see each other in a romantic and occasional sexual setting while sharing a common space. I will continue my work and Sorrena will, if she manages to catch Lestrade before he signs her paper work, will continue hers. We are not dating" Sherlock said the word like it was dirty.  
"Oh, right" Sorrena jumped up to run into Sherlock's room to change. She had packed a change of clothing in her travel bags, she wouldn't look professional but Lestrade had seen her in worse.  
"I will be back later" she called as she ran out of the flat but Sherlock didn't stir from his chair.  
"You know that's the definition of dating right?" John joked and Sherlock scowled.  
"You love her don't you, or at least your version of it" John knew he wasn't going to get an answer.  
"Don't hurt her Sherlock. If she was leaving to run away from you and you did something or said something to get her to stay you can't just let this thing fail because if it does, Sherlock she gave up some pretty big chances to stay" John watched as his friend continued to breath evenly, he knew he was listening.  
"Plus I would love to see this end the way relationship should, you know, with marriage" Sherlock looked at him with a hot glare and John only chuckled into his tea and ignored it.

Greg sighed all he had to do was sign the bloody paper work and she would be gone but he found himself stuck with the pen in his hand. He should have signed it the day before after her last official work day as his lab jokey but some sick part of him wished she would drop the opportunity of a life time to stay with his team, with their strange little family. When he left the night before it had been neglected on his desk only to be a mean reminder that morning that he didn't have Jack there anymore to do her magic in the lab and with the strange calming effect she often seemed to have on the consulting detective he almost always found with her. His door swung open quietly but he didn't look up, it was now or never he supposed. He uncapped the pen but a soft, small hand stopped him and he looked up to meet green eyes lined in black.

"If it's not to much to ask I wouldn't mind keeping my job if I'm going to be sticking around London after all" her voice was small and quite between them but she didn't look sad, in fact he couldn't remember seeing her happier.  
"Oh, thank god. I thought I was going to have to replace you" Lestrade laughed in relief.  
"As if you could" She was smiling brightly  
"You're staying then?" Sorrena guessed she would be getting that question from just about everyone today.  
"Yeah, there's more for me here" Sorrena admitted which Lestrade found funny seeing as she could have had the career of her dreams at the Jeffersonian, he could almost guess what she was alluding to but it seemed to impossible. He hoped he wasn't wrong, that she hadn't misread some sign from the sociopath and stayed thinking she could get him. Before he could talk more his office door opened again and Donavon leaned in.  
"We got a case sir. Triple homicide on the banks of the Thames" Lestarde waved her off and stood.  
"First day back then for you, want to see a crime scene?" He was to happy to let her out of his sights just yet.  
"And get my samples before Anderson gets a chance to get his grimy paws in them, hell yes." Sorrena felt like she was floating. She should have been setting up her place on the other side of the world meeting her new team, working towards her doctorate yet she had given it up and she couldn't find it in herself to feel bad about that.

Lestrade drove them there, calling Sherlock on the way. Three men found on the banks all striped of their clothing with a single wound to the chest. It all looked a bit strange and Sherlock would sure get a kick out of this one and with nothing to go on in terms of their identity they would need his help.  
Sorrena was swabbing the mouth of the third man in the neat little row they had been laid in when she heard Sherlock pull up with John just behind him coat swirling around him and satisfied smirk in place. He had not seen her yet and since she had never been invited out to the field he wouldn't know to look. Anderson was just beside her photographing for documentation.  
"Thought you were leaving?" He asked still squatting over the second victim.  
"Kinda decided at the last minute I would rather stay here" Sorrena was tight lipped, trying not to get snippy with him. Since she had meant to be traveling in the clothing she had brought along they were looser and more comfortable which made him seem less interested in her though she still caught his occasional glance at her backside when he walked around her.  
"Its because of the freak wasn't it?" Anderson still had an attitude with Sherlock that Sorrena didn't understand. The man had glory worshipped Sherlock for a few months after his return and then like a switch he seemed back to loathing him with an even bigger vengeance then before. At the police tape Sally Donavon was giving the consulting detective a hard time as well.  
"Why are you here then?" She blocked their way through.  
"We were asked here" Sherlock felt some of the lightness still in his chest from the night before and the surprise of finding himself with Sorrena, able to keep her by him, tightening up.  
"What for?" Donavon crossed her arms looking smug. Sorrena was watching them carefully, she could already see Sherlock's mood turning as his face hardened and his back straitened.  
"I imagine to do the job Scotland Yard seem to be incapable of doing with out me, solving a murder case" Sherlock snapped and Sally glared.  
"Look, Lestrade asked us here" John tried to head off the whole confrontation between the two.  
"And why would he do that, we have our own sniffer dog with out you"  
"Anderson is hardly capable" Sherlock sneered.  
"I wasn't talking about Anderson" Sherlock's chest ignited with fire, she shouldn't be allowed to talk about his Sorrena like that. Sorrena was already up and moving when she saw his hands clench and turn white, she saw the cogs turning in his head pick up pace, what ever he was about to say would either get him a good slap or kicked off the crime scene and this was a perfect opportunity to throw off the two people who gave Sherlock and herself the most grief.  
Sorrena slipped under the police tape and before anyone could fully understand the situation she hooked her arms around the tall dark haired mans neck and pulled him down kissing him deeply. Sherlock was stunned still, he was barely comfortable with standing to close to her again and letting people see his weakness for her, he certainly wasn't ready for such blatant acts of public affection but with her lips hot and soft against his he lost his sense of surroundings and the lights behind his eyes and the heat in the pit of his stomach.  
John swallowed thickly, even knowing they were together, or some strange version of boyfriend and girlfriend this was nothing he had ever expected to see from the self proclaimed high functioning sociopath. Donavon's mouth gaped like a fish out of water, Lestrade who had also been moving to let the man through stopped in his tracks, his coffee half way to his mouth forgotten. He certainly guessed from their conversation that Sherlock had some part in her choice to stay but this was a tad bit more then he had hoped for her. She broke away and was grinning wildly, eyes smoldering with mischief and Sherlock gave a crocked grin of his own. Oh she was a devious little thing he thought to himself while she brushed back under the tape and lifted it for him to take ignoring the stares of everyone around them.  
"Three victims, all male. Found undressed on the banks at five this morning. No evidence they have been in the water. But until I can run samples that's about it from me" She stood back and watched. She had seen him deduce people hundreds of times and the reactions ranged from choice words to tears and she had been on the cold side of his analytical gaze dozens of time but she never got to watch him where his deductions were best, on a crime scene.  
"All mid thirties and married. All abusive to their wives judging by the bruising on their knuckles, light but old and new over lap so not overly recent and not a rough fight. First two have been married less then five years but third victim was closer to eight years Going by the age and wear if their wedding rings. They all are from the same area most likely knew each other though I would need to see their wives to tell for sure, two construction workers and a fisher man who has been retired for less then a year."  
"We think they were cheating and got caught and the wife shot them in the chest" Anderson offered.  
"Well you got almost everything wrong then. They were in fact shot" Sherlock snapped.  
"Most likely a 22 caliber, would have been small for that small of a wound and no exit" Sorrena looked unconvinced with Anderson's deductions but she hadn't seen a lot of bullet wounds to go on.  
"And now your wrong again, my god what is that like, always being wrong?" Sherlock was smirking smugly.  
"They were not undressed for sexual intercourse they were naked for humiliation. Three burly, chauvinistic, spousal abusers being forced to experience each other's nudity. Scuffs and bruising on their knees suggest they were kneeling. Tear tracks down the first and second mans faces. Someone forced them to beg for their lives while naked and sniveling in front of each other. The chances that they knew each other is becoming more likely."  
"Go on then Sherlock I need everything you have" Sherlock stood up and gestured for John to look over the bodies as well.  
"Small wound to the upper thoracic cavity. Small but deep" John surmised as he pressed gloved fingers to the wounds.  
"First two are slightly off, would have taken a few minutes to bleed out and it would have been painful. Last one is a strait shot to the heart, death was fast for him. Some one knew what they were aiming for, maybe just missed a bit on the other two" John guessed.  
"They didn't miss the weapon was long and thin and there were three separate killers"  
"And they just happened to all wash up on the same shore, like some coincidence?" Sally asked unconvinced by the man even after all the cases he had solved.  
"Oh the universe is rarely so lazy no they were killed together at another location by three separate women. One was the aggressor, she would have training in bow hunting and anatomy, she went for the kill shot and knew exactly how to do it. The other two were her loyal followers. They did as she said but with out the skill they were slightly off in their aim."  
"So they were all killed by Cupid?" Lestrade joked but standing around three dead men tended to take the funny out of humor.  
"It was the wives, banded together by the abuse they worked together. Forced their husbands to experience the humiliation they no doubt felt. If the ex fisher mans wife has calluses on her thump and first digit as well as the opposite arm has scarring on the forearm dating back at least 15 years then arrest them all." Sherlock brushed off his coat dramatically and shot a glance at Sorrena. She was smiling and gave him an impressed look and he found for the first time he had honestly needed someone else's approval and it felt glorious.  
"We don't even know their names yet Sherlock" Lestrade sighed.  
"We can check missing persons" Donovan suggested.  
"Don't be stupid their wives killed them why would they then report them missing. Your better off running their DNA through the criminal database. The eldest man has a criminal record if his tattoos are anything to go by." Sherlock rolled his eyes and Sorrena fought off the giggles. He was certainly showing off today. John was enjoying the show of getting to watch Sherlock show off for a purpose. Doing it just so Jack could see just how great the great Sherlock Holmes really was.  
"I have what I need here. I can start on the cheek swabs I took and get everything else I need from Molly after the autopsy" Sorrena commented. Sherlock offered her his arm like a gentleman to lead her away. He was a tad worried what he might do if she wasn't there to stop him from doing it. He still felt the anger bubbling in the pit of his stomach at his brother and what he had almost lost because of the politician.  
"You can come back with us if you would like" he seemed to eager to stay near her but she brushed him off with a kind smile.  
"I need to help Lestrade pack up the van and stay with the evidence plus. It should only be a few mop top just wait for me at the lab. Techs were already loading bodies into bags and into the van now that evidence had been collected and photographed. Sherlock looked like a kicked puppy and he looked over her with concern until she waved him off and went about doing her followed Sherlock into the back of a cab as they moved on to Bart's.  
"Ok what else is going on?" John could see there was something more. He wasn't just being different because they were more involved then he ever thought Sherlock could be. Letting her live in their flat, in his room, sharing his space the seeing them kiss was quite the surprise for one day.  
"I have no idea what you are talking about" John shook his head not believing a word but there was no forcing anything out of the man if he didn't want to say it, it took Jack nearly leaving for another country permanently before he even fessed up to having feelings for her. He watched as Sherlock watched London pass them by clenching and un clenching his fists until the found themselves stopping and getting out. Sherlock paced the lab while John just watched from Jack's favorite pilfered chair. But after only a few minutes the detective rushed out the doors before John could stop him or ask where he was off to.

They rolled the gurneys into the pathology lab and quickly transferred the men onto the slabs for Molly who waited near by clutching her clip board and looking dejected. No more lunches with Jack, feeling the music through the walls from her lab or watching the tense dance between the dark haired women and Sherlock while they both refused to see what they could have if someone just relented and gave into their feeling for once instead of being so damn proud. Molly huffed a little in annoyance, if there was anything that could have gotten her friend to stay it would have been Sherlock opening up, she would have to slap the man the next time she got the chance.  
"Keep frowning like that and those lines might get stuck" Molly dropped her paper work and squealed as she threw her arms around her friend knocking her back a few steps.  
"Oh, ok. I was worried you might hit me" Sorrena laughed as she hugged her back just as fiercely.  
"You, you didn't leave. Sherlock did something to get you to stay didn't he" Molly released her and looked her over. A loose black shirt over comfy dark wash jeans and old worn out converse. Hair pulled into a tight messy bun make up light and looking a bit rushed but she had never looked happier.  
"I guess you could say that. I mean he stopped me at the airport and now we are, well, not exactly dating because god knows Sherlock Holmes doesn't date but apparently we are experimenting with being in an committed relationship while sharing common space and keeping to an exclusivity between him and myself" Sorrena explained.  
"So dating?" Molly asked with a laugh.  
"And he asked me to move in" Sorrena nodded at the absurdity of it all.  
"It's about damn time" Molly huffed and Sorrena rolled her eyes, apparently everyone knew they would end up together except for Sherlock and herself. She tried to keep the satisfied smirk off her face and fought letting her hands drift to her belly where their child was growing. She wasn't willing to share that with anyone else except Sherlock just yet. Molly excused herself after getting Sorrena to swear to a night out together so she could get started and Sorrena all but skipped off to her lab with her boxes of evidence.

"Where's bean pole?" She asked when she only found John waiting for her, the doctor only shrugged.

Sherlock slammed his brother into the wall again his arm pressed into his back painfully as the older man winced. Blood dripped from his nose and his eye was already starting to darken. But the time Sherlock had made it into Mycroft's office he had been in a fury. Even words had escaped him and he had come in swinging.

"Of all the stupid things you have done this is that last" Sherlock hissed menacingly.

"I was trying to ensure your safety brother mine. I couldn't have known how you would react to her news. Wouldn't want you slipping back into the arms addiction now would we. Not with a baby on the way" Sherlock tightened his grip and Mycroft gasped in pain.

"Stay away from my family Mycroft. I will not warn you again" Sherlock shoved himself away from his brother and turned to leave. Mycroft sighed heavily.

"I had not accounted for this kind of sentiment from you little brother. It's as if you couldn't live with out her" Sherlock paused in his exit but didn't turn around.

"Ah, well then you must forgive me Sherlock" his words were surprisingly honest despite his voice still sounding cold.

"It is not my forgiveness you should be asking for" The younger Holmes growled.

"You very nearly sent my Sorrena across the world with my child and made her believe she was doing it all for me. That she was saving me, that she was some kind of burden I couldn't, that if wouldn't want to bear" Sherlock slammed the door behind him and Mycroft brushed his hand under his nose to find blood. He called for Anthea to bring him a medical kit. He often forgot just his strong a right hook Sherlock had even when he wasn't high.

Ok. We are stopping there because if we don't this chapter is going to be way to long. There was three plot points to get through today and we got through one! Well ok then. This story was only planned to be twenty chapters but what ever. I'm fighting through this one because I have a few ideas but I'm not entirely happy with this one but I want you to have the last chapter so I'm hurrying along. Thank you everyone for all the reviews please leave more I loom forward to them so so so much. So the last chapter was not as short as I had hoped but I have given up on short chapters all together. Have a lovely day and please tell me what you think. Everyone says they don't understand why this story doesn't have more review, well you can be that change! Anywho. Let me know if you want to beta. Thanks.

-Thieves


	22. Chapter 22

Ok then, this chapter is still all mashed up in my head as to how it's going to go and I'm actually pretty excited but I'm having trouble focussing on this because I'm watching a documentary on dinosaurs and it's really distracting... Not that that is important to you at all... Anyway. I hoped you liked Mycroft at the very least getting a few good knocks to the face in the last chapter. I'm working towards the end here, it should be coming soon and like I said when it's done I would love for a beta to go over it so let me know. With out further ado...

Disclaimer:...nope, still own nothing.

Preview: Sherlock gets a. It over zealous in research and they are forced to start sharing their secret with the world.

Already a week since she had gone from utter devastation and preparing to run for a new life to living in 221b with John and Sherlock. Sleeping in his bed and waking up, unfortunately most often to make a run to the bathroom thanks to morning sickness, with him sitting in his chair thinking or playing his violin and on mornings when she was really lucky finding him sitting in the bed beside her. Only once in the week so far had he actually done any sleeping. They woke up the next morning curled around each other. Sherlock had been interested in the fact that it had been his best night sleep in years and had promised to look into the results further on another night. Sorrena had simply been happy to find herself in a warm embrace a sensation she had not felt since her youth with her brother.  
She was nervously bouncing her heels as they sat together in yet another doctors office. Sherlock insisted on coming along for choosing her doctor and after five offices he had deduced three smokers, a serial gambler, and a cheater. Once deduced he had deemed them all unfit to treat her and moved on. The first two she had felt bad, apologizing as the stood looking shocked as the man listed off their secrets and bustled her out of the room but after that she just gave up and followed where he lead her.  
"Will you stop that it incredibly annoying" Sherlock snapped at her.  
"Let me pick a damn doctor and get food and then yep" Sorrena was tired, hungry and borderline cranky and she still had a case to work.  
"I still have samples to run and ID the victims from last weeks case. DNA didn't find a match" she whined and slouched further into her chair making the detective sigh. He simply wanted to ensure her safety as well as their child's. The nurse waved for them and quickly led them inside settling Sorrena down on the exam bench and nervously watching Sherlock scan the room fingers brushing some of the instruments and pulling out his magnifying glass to inspect them closer.  
"I assure you all of my equipment is cleaned and fully sanitized between every patient" Doctor Nolls walked in confidently, the first to not be unsettled by Sherlock's investigations. The consulting detective turned and observed him carefully. He could see he was married happily for at least twenty five years with three kids and two dog and a cat. He saw no tremors in his hands and the lines on his face made him look like someone who easily smiled. His clothing were neatly pressed and cared for. And his watch was expensive, in his research on the way Sherlock had researched the man finding several articles on his work in advancements in medicine and a member of the board for the hospital after practicing for nearly twenty years. He was the most promising doctor they had seen so far and the fact they had even managed an appointment on such short notice made Sherlock believe Mycroft was somewhere in the background working his magic, another attempt to calm his anger by ensuring the best for his family.  
"He will do" Sherlock stepped to the side so the doctor could approach apparently pleased with what he had deduced about the man. smiled and motioned for Sorrena to lay back. His hands ran gently across her abdomen as he spoke Sherlock watched his every move like a hawk.  
"I received your files from your GP and he has you at about three months along. What kind of symptoms are you feeling?"  
"She is suffering from exceeding amounts of exhaustion, constantly hungry which is abnormal for her and has accounted for an increase in caloric intake of roughly 1000 calories daily and she has put on four pounds of weight in the last month alone. She has some swelling in her ankle and knees and still wakes up between 6 and 7:15 every morning to vomit usually twice" Sherlock answered for her. Nolls laughed and nodded.  
"He is rather observant isn't he" he joked with her as his ministrations focused on the hardness in her lower belly.  
"Oh you have no idea" Sorrena glanced at the man and Sherlock was scowling at them both.  
"Well everything feels normal. Have you had a sonogram yet?"  
"No" Sorrena answered and Sherlock stepped closer, she reached out and he took her hand hesitantly. He was still unsure of their interactions. He was only affectionate behind closed doors even John hadn't witnessed most of it. He had still reserved himself to small touches or a peck but Sorrena took what ever he was willing to give.  
"We will need to get one done today" he instructed Sorrena to pull up her shirt and roll down the top of her pants a bit to give him access while he set up the machinery and spread cold gel onto her skin which made her flinch at the sudden temperature. He gently set the prob down and although the screen was just a flickering of black and grey what really caught the couples attention was the thumping of a heart, light and fast.  
"Oh" Dr. Nolls exclaimed in surprise and the two looked up. Sherlock was curious but Sorrena was terrified something was wrong.  
"What, what's wrong with the baby?" Sorrena sounded strained and she squeezed Sherlock's hand tightly making him wince.  
"Oh, no dear. Nothing wrong, in fact more congratulations are in order. Both of them are just fine"  
"Oh thank god"  
"Both?" They spoke at the same time. Sherlock gave her a second to catch on, confident she would.  
"BOTH" and now that she had caught up she was squeezing his hand harder. She looked panicked and Sherlock couldn't think of why, this was after all better news as she was very unlikely to be pregnant again having two children in one pregnancy would be best. She quickly hid her feeling with a mask of calm but Sherlock knew it was just that, a mask.  
"Yes ma'am. Baby A and Baby B. Both looking healthy and growing quite nicely. And strong heart beats." They could still hear the thumping of three hearts. Two light and quick and one lower and slower.  
"Well we can get set up for your upcoming appointments if that's what you would like. One of the nurses can get you some pamphlets if you would like it." The doctor offered.  
"Yes we would like everything you could give us" Sherlock didn't have time to give him to much more of his attention as Sorrena still had not dropped her mask and he was starting to get concerned. They left with a large pile of papers and hailed a taxi quickly.  
"Are you going to tell me what you are thinking or do I have to guess?" Sherlock had waited for her to break the silence but she was lost in thought.  
"Twins, of corse I would have god damn twins" she almost sounded bitter and Sherlock was confused.  
"You are not happy?" He asked.  
"I, I just knew this was going to be hard for both of us and now there's two of them" Sherlock smiled kindly his face soft, he finally understood why she had panicked. She believed this would change his opinions on the matter of their relationship.  
"This will change nothing Sorrena. I still intend to continue with our experiment regard a relationship and I full intend to involve myself in my children no matter the outcome. Having two is best for you, you have wanted children since you were young but with your condition the chances of you ever becoming pregnant again is far to low." Sorrena smiled, seeing his logic but even more so enjoying the feeling of knowing she hadn't scared him off yet.  
"When are we going to tell John?" She asked.  
"Do we have to tell him?"  
"I think he might notice even if we don't" Sorrena laughed. Knowing there was two small lives growing inside of her made her feel full and warm, the slight roundness now made more sense as well.  
"Why are you so reluctant to tell John, he's your best friend" Sorrena questioned.  
"I find I am unsure of his reaction. He is quite unpredictable in matters involving friends." Sherlock admitted.  
"Isn't that what you like about him, he always surprises you" Sherlock shrugged, he wasn't entirely sure John wasn't going to hurt him over this one let alone Lestrade and what worse Molly.

Sorrena and Sherlock made it back to lab before anyone had come looking for them, John still busy at work. She sighed, work was hard with out her music, she had the head phone but with out the thud of bass that she could feel in her chest and feet it wasn't the same.  
"Could you run the chemo analysis on dead guy number two?" She had only completed one victim so far and having already solved his own case she knew Sherlock would be itching for work by now. She went to grab her equipment when she stopped someone had touched her stuff, moved it around apparently to make room again for her sound system that had been reinstalled in their absence. Attached to the stereo was a note on cream colored stationary reading that all her possessions had been moved into storage pending on her needs while her clothing and more regularly required items had been moved to Sherlock's flat. The detective noticed the hand writing was not his brothers but a women's his personal assistants no doubt.  
"Well he is certainly laying it on thick" Sorrena commented. Little things like getting appointments, cars picking them up though Sherlock refused to take them, everything with the Jeffersonian and her moving plans had been taken care of with out a word and now this. Sherlock said nothing, every time he looked at her, every time he smelled her on his things, in his bed, every time when they were locked away behind closed doors and they shared a kiss or a touch or when she was deep on sleep and he would caress the small bump where his children were growing he would get angry with his brother again for his role in nearly losing this chance. Sorrena watched his expression carefully.  
"Ok, you did something. What did you do?" Sherlock shook himself from his thoughts.  
"I have no idea what you are referring to"  
"With the Asshat you call your brother, what did you do?" Sorrena set up her samples and loaded them into the machines before coming around to his station. Her music was already on and low and with a fair amount of satisfaction he found she had chosen a play list she kept for days she was feeling happy.  
"I assure you it was nothing he didn't deserve" his voice was low.  
"Ok that doesn't exactly bode well. Did you hurt him or something?" Sorrena was only half joking, she was well aware that Sherlock was capable.  
"Nothing that won't heal unfortunately" she tilted her head in understanding.  
"You know he was only trying to protect you. He has a really twisted way of doing it but it could have always been worse" Sorrena traced the edge of his jaw with a finger tip as he clenched his teeth. He simply couldn't imagine losing her or their children now that he knew.  
"I can't possibly see how it could have been worse. I would have lost you and never known of my offspring" Sherlock retorted but she gave him a knowing look and he sighed realizing his mistake.  
"And saying this to a women who's brother killed himself to protect her no matter how unnecessary such measures where it occurs to me that it could have I fact been worse" he knew it was with in his brothers ability should he find the desire to kill and there would likely be no repercussions.  
"He set me up with a flat, an amazing job, and he had already set up appointments for doctors visits with some of the best in their field. He thought you would think I was a mistake and took care of it accordingly but he certainly didn't just get rid of me" Sorrena let him think while she turned up the music and scanned through the results from her blood work on the first victim. She slammed her hand on the table a few songs later to get his attention.  
"First guy had levels of RTC in his system. It's a sedative used in veterinary medicine for large hoof stock. Its illegal to have commercially so one of the women must work at an office where they could steal it. They would have needed something to drug their husbands to make them more compliant" Sorrena informed him. He quickly called Lestrade with the information.  
"We need to look for veterinarians who work in the London area but have clients in more rural areas as well working with large animals who have reported any thefts from their stocks" he voice was excited, he was in the throws of a case once more. He put the phone on speaker when she turned her music low again so she could be involved.  
"We actually had a report come in this morning. Do you know who we are going to be looking for?" The DI asked  
"I will meet you there, I can not trust your observations on this. Text me the address" he hung up before there was a response and Sorrena laughed, he just honestly didn't know how often he came across as an ass even when he was being helpful. He was on his feet and out the door quickly so she went about finding the drug in the other samples to help tie the case up. She heard the doors swing open again and found Shelrock still standing there looking unsure. He moved to her and placed a kiss on the side of her head with a small smile and left again evidently satisfied with his little experiment with affection.

The morgue was always cold, it had to be for a few obvious reasons so Sorrena bundled herself in a sweater she kept around just for her visits and walked down the halls. She let her hands wander to her bump in the solitude as she walked. She hadn't had time to think about the news for that morning yet and now that the shock of it had worn off and she had been reassured that this changed nothing in their new found relationship she was starting to feel the excitement again. Two little lives nestle inside her and she was smiling wildly. She felt silly for not even considering the possibility of twin before. Her family was prone to them, her mother had a twin and two younger siblings who were twins, she had a twin, and her father had older twin brothers though he had no twin of his own.  
"Oh your mother is a silly women" she muttered to them as she found the door and went inside.  
"Hey Molly, I need to see those three male victims from the bank case" Sorrena called out and the pathologist poked her head into the room.  
"Yeah, of course" Molly slide them out of their places in the wall coolers for her and she started scanning them.  
"Need any help?" Molly offered as she watched  
"That would be great yeah, I'm looking for evidence of a puncture mark. I found some drugs in their systems that would have knocked out a cow but I want to be sure of his they were administered. I'm running stomach contents on all three right now but while we wait figured I could make myself busy" Molly nodded and got to work on the victim next to her.  
"So how is it going with Steve?" Sorrena couldn't handle the silence that Molly always worked in.  
"Great, I mean yeah it been awesome. He is a bit weird but I like that you know I mean look how long I was in love with Sherlock" Molly blushed  
"I mean, I'm not anymore because I know he's with you now and you have no idea how happy that makes me but" She blushed deeper and Sorrena smirked at her.  
"Oh, shut up you" Molly huffed and ignored her friends laughs.  
"No really Molly, it's funny" Molly looked up and really scrutinized her friend who was giving her a quizzical look. She was wearing another loose fitting outfit but her sweater was pulling it tight, her skin looked clear and bright even with her dark makeup and she was smiling while she ran gloved hands over a dead mans arms.  
"Oh my god!" Molly exclaimed when it clicked. Sorrena rushed over to the corpse.  
"What did you find a needle mark?"  
"You're pregnant!" Molly squealed.  
"What, no, no I'm not" The dark haired girl paled slightly.  
"Yes you are. I've seen it before. I had a women once, I though she looked so pretty hair all soft and skin glowing and she looked so happy even though she was dead and when I cut her open she was pregnant. Jack you're pregnant!" Molly pulled her into a quick hug.  
"Ok, I'm going to pretend I didn't get compared to a corpse for a second. Molly you can't tell anyone" Sorrena whispered harshly as if the walls had ears.  
"Does Sherlock know?" Molly asked concerned.  
"Why do you assume it's Sherlock's?"  
"Because you two have been building up all this sexual tension for years and I would hate to see it ruined because some other guy was stupid and got in the way of your love"  
"Ok, that was overly romanticized but I see your point. It's, it's the reason I was leaving, I didn't think he would want this, that he would want us and he managed to figure it out and, well let's just say he surprised me with just how much he was willing to do to keep us" Sorrena smiled, it felt good to see her friend so happy for them.  
"Oh my god he talked about feelings didn't he" Molly gasped in shock she was pretty sure that man would take his feelings bottled to the grave. Sorrena nodded and they both shared a laugh.  
"So how far along?" Molly gave a pointed look to her middle.  
"About three months"  
"You two have been going on for three months and never though to tell anyone" Molly exclaimed.  
"Um, not exactly" Sorrena turned pink with embarrassment.  
"It was originally a one night thing, we both though the other made a mistake and in hindsight we probably should have just talked about the whole shebang in the first place, would have made this a whole lot easier" Sorrena admitted.  
"I got a puncture mark in the right pectoral" Molly used a pen to mark the area so not to lose it. They found the same mark on the other two quickly and Sorrena went to leave for her own lab.  
"Molly, seriously no one can know yet" Molly smiled and waved her off.

Books were everywhere, every available surface and Sherlock sat on the floor in a small clearing and looking every bit like the eye in the middle of the storm. Papers, pamphlets, notebooks, and hard and soft covered books surrounded him as he pressed his nose to one making notes. Sorrena laughed before she could catch herself and it was enough to shake Sherlock out of the haze of studying. The case had ended yesterday with the arrest of Mary-Anne Corkery and her two friends at arms Ashely Smalls and Caityln Frogert for the murder of their husbands and Sherlock had almost immediately disappeared with out an explanation. She hadn't seen him in nearly 16 hours, sleeping fitfully on her own in his bed, when she had finally opted to run out for food after having a lovely breakfast with John and playing with his chemistry set all day. In the hour she had been gone he had all but destroyed the flat. He only glanced her way before looking back to his book but even though she didn't have his eyes he was offering her a small stack of his own hand written note which she took to read through.  
She set his food near his reach after clearing a small space on the low table and settled onto the sofa with her own. John was to be out on a date for the night and they would have the night to themselves. Sorrena felt a small stirring low down at the prospect of being alone with Sherlock but he had so far shown any interest in those aspects of a relationship and she had no right to rush him, not after everything. She watched him over her notes as every so often he would toss a book away to reference another. His notes ranged from things she could no longer eat, activities she should avoid, the best positions to sleep in when she was further along, possible complications when expecting multiples. That seemed to be something he had focused on quite a bit and Sorrena couldn't help but smile fondly, it was in a small way a gesture of just how much Sherlock already cared about his children. He wouldn't show it like a normal man would but his defensiveness with the doctors, the very adamant notes about how to ensure the safety of the babies, his light touches to her stomach when he was certain she was sleeping. It was like peeling back all the hard, bitter, cold shell and really getting to see the man she had fallen for hard.  
"So is there a reason you apparently need to read every book on fetal development?" Sorrena had finished the notes and was thumbing through a book that when tossed away had landed a little to close.  
"I can only track development from outside the womb so I will need knowledge on what is occurring internally" he answered. One brow jumped up in question.  
"What exactly do you plan on doing mop top?" She knew he was keeping himself calm by thinking about this while situation as an experiment but she was still a bit worried as to what he would be experimenting with. He smiled when he caught her small tone of concern, the way her hand unknowingly slipped down over her abdomen. Her mothering instincts had already begun to kick in.  
"Nothing to strenuous I assure you. Every day I will measure from your sternum to you pelvis and around the widest part of your abdomen to track growth as well as firmness of the flesh. I will be cataloging all symptoms, I'm particularly interested in abnormal cravings. I want to document fetal movements as well once you reach that stage and I would like you run urine and blood samples weekly if not daily" he listed off. He opened up his lab top which sat beside him to show her the charts he had created for the data input.  
"Oh that's all?" Sorrena joked but Sherlock didn't catch her sarcasm.  
"I agree it seems like a small data pool but I have no doubt new studies will appear as you progress. I was considering also tracking your caloric input in comparison to your output."  
"No, no you are not tracking my bathroom visits" Sherlock pouted.  
"It would show if your receiving optimum nutritional content from your food to properly nourish two growing fetuses." He argued.  
"And the person carrying around said fetuses wants you to stay away from her poo so drop it scarecrow. I already agree to everything else so let this one go it's not going to happen." She wasn't going to back down on this one.  
"There is one other thing I wish to discus with you that I discovered in my research so far." He had be one suddenly serious and Sorrena wasn't sure what he might be on about now.  
"I'm all ears then" Sorrena set down her empty container and scooted forward a bit in her seat.  
"Much of my reading said that as I already assumed with the flooding of hormones in the females system that is expected with pregnancy it will often lead to emotional outburst both in anger, happiness, and even extreme sadness. Now while in the past I have been supportive of you to the best of my ability in your emotional predicaments I feel those had excuse as you mourned your brother and felt unnessecary guilt but these displays are often described as sudden and with out true purpose and I believe them pointless and as such ask for you to keep your self in check as much as you can control. I can not have your emotional displays interfering with my work" he was analytical in everything and Sorrena swallowed the flash of hurt in her chest at his words. She was with Sherlock Holmes, Consulting detective, and high functioning sociopath. This was to be expected from him she guessed.  
"I will keep that in mind" Sorrena was monotone but he seemed satisfied with her answer and she sighed.  
"I would like to attempt physical affection now if you wouldn't be adverse to it" Sorrena laughed again and he looked confused.  
"You really don't have to ask. I am never going to stop you unless I'm really pissed in which case I would advise staying out of arms length."  
"Noted" Sherlock muttered as he settled onto the sofa next to her and brought his arms around her in an awkward hug. Sorrena gave him a minute and waited for him to relax a bit before adjusting herself so they were laying back with her nestled into his side her face buried in the junction between his neck and shoulder. She let her lips brush his skin and felt him growl low in his chest. She smiled against his neck and moved her up his pale skin with few the light kisses following the line of his jaw by the time she found his lips his pupils were blown wide and his breathing was deeper. He pulled her up so she was straddling his lap as they deepened their kiss a bit until she pulled away. She could feel his arousal but she knew he wanted to take every step in the relationship slowly but he no longer had the rock solid control he could normal hold is urges under when it came to the dark haired forensic chemist.  
"I think it's best if we stop there" She whispered to to him and he groaned but nodded in agreement. It only felt like minutes but the clock read the had been locked together on the sofa for nearly half an hour.  
"I would like to begin my base line reading tonight if you would allow?" He asked and offered his hand to help her out of her seat which she took. He had her take off her shirt so she stood in nothing but a black push up bra and tight fitting blood red pants. The look did nothing to help his attempts to ignore what he would like to be doing to her. He pressed her agianst the doors archway into the kitchen to ensure her back was strait as slouching would throw off his data. His fingers were cool and slightly callused from his work with the violin as she watched him run his fingers down her sides and over her slight bump pressing gently. Even if he was just collecting information it felt incredibly intimate.  
"You will need to begin wearing looser fitting pants" he commented as he felt for the tightness just under the top of her jeans. He was running a measuring tape from just under her bra to the top of her pants down the center line of her body to measure just how far out her bump was sticking at only three months with two babies when they heard the door to the flat open, neither had noticed the down stairs door or heard anyone on the stairs outside to lost in the moment. John looked at them with wide eyes unsure of exactly what he had walked in on. In her state of undress he would say private time for the couple but Sherlock was holding a measuring tape and looking far more like he was on a case then engaging in any intimate activities.  
"What the hell are you doing?" John couldn't stop the question from slipping out and Jack's eyes popped to him but Sherlock stayed focused on his measurements.  
"Um, hi, I, we thought you were not coming home till later" Sorrena stuttered. John took in the whole room scattered literature everywhere with the common theme of childhood development, pregnancy, birth and early parenting along with pages of notes in Sherlock's familiar scrawl. He took in what they were doing and the slightest bulge in the former dancers normally flat stomach and felt himself sway a bit on his feet. This couldn't be happening.  
"You're not" John paled and couldn't move from his spot at the door. Sherlock input his measurements and handed Sorrena her shirt back which she quickly pulled on.  
"I told you you should have told him sooner" she muttered and Sherlock rolled his eyes.  
"But how, how did, you're pregnant" John couldn't keep his sentences strait.  
"Really now John you're a doctor I'm sure you grasp the mechanics involved in the creation of a fetus" Sherlock huffed.  
"I don't think that's what he was asking beanpole"  
"Ah yes, you mean how did I and Sorrena engage in sexual intercourse, yes well three months ago after a slight mishap in the lab we found ourselves" Sorrena cut him off when John's eyes got wide.  
"Let's just say we both got a little carried away and then I found out about this and his brother tried to get me to leave so mop top wouldn't find out but he used his crazy fantastic mind to deduce it and found me in the airport about to make a very big mistake and we agreed to try out this whole relationship thing and this whole parenthood thing in one go" Sorrena tried to make it seem simple but there was so much involved in it now including her growing love for the man which she could no longer ignore.  
"Oh" John exclaimed. Looking back it made sense.  
"I feel like a bloody idiot, not seeing this sooner" he grumbled. Everyone had been saying for so long that the two should be together but that they had and no one had noticed seem hilarious so he started laughing so hard he couldn't properly breath. Sorrena and Sherlock shared a concerned glance.  
"So you two went from trying to pretend no one gave a flying fuck about each other to now your boyfriend and girlfriend and you're going to have a baby together" he was weezing as he tried to get his breathing back under control.  
"Babies" Sherlock corrected as he left the room for begin running a sample of base line urine he had stored from Sorrena before her pregnancy. She honestly didn't want to know how or where he got it.  
"Were having twins" Sorrena explained with a small smile.  
"When did you find out?"  
"Uh, a few days ago actually" Sorrena scratched the back of her neck embarrassed they and waited so long to tell the man.  
"Are you happy?" He asked her in a low voice. She glanced at Sherlock who was carefully measuring out the liquid.  
"Yeah, and I think he is too" John nodded in agreement. He pulled her into a warm hug not letting her go for several minutes.  
"I want to help you any way I can Jack, anything you need because with his kids it honestly going to take a village" John offered and she smile warmly letting him really see her gratitude.  
"Good thing we have a pretty fucking awesome village then" Sorrena thought about her family. Her mother and father who she had already told and who had gushed over the phone in their excitement, of Lestrade and Molly, of John who was possibly the kindest person on earth and of the father of her children, oh they really did have the best village.

Ok so this is part two of what was suppose to be one chapter and has now about to turn into three. So this is another filler of sorts. Of them just telling everyone and the next one is going to be a bit of a time jump to move things along. Please let me know what you guys think becuase I love what you all have to say. This story has been such fun to write and I think we are nearing the end so hold on tight! Please review. You all are really the best.

Ps. If anyone is on Tumblr. I an on there, you can ask John and Sherlock questions based on their lives and cases. It is not tied with this story( it is actually Johnlock heavy). Please stop by and leave a question. You can find John at John-Hamish-Watson-dr. If you would like to join the fun!

-Thieves


	23. Chapter 23

Ok, this chapter I have been looking forward to writing because I get to be a bit crazy and random and have a fun putting everyone into strange situations. This might be super long or oddly short depending how this goes but that is pretty normal for me. Hope you guys like all my little surprises. I think I am keeping Sherlock as honest to his character as I can but having someone he cares about like Sorrena would change him so that's what is going to happen a bit. Here's to glimpses into the life of two very strange people and their mismatched family...

Disclaimer: j pxo opuijoh...guess what that says and win a cookie!

Preview: When you're pregnant with the children of Sherlock Holmes life is never boring.

Sorrena had been living with the boys of 221b Baker Street for three weeks now. She felt like it was home already. She often stole Sherlock's chair much to his annoyance and had breakfast with John every morning once she could stomach it. She had seen Sherlock throw a fit, John go on two dates and watched the two men run about on a case. She moved back and forth between her own lab at Bart's and after adding her own equipment to the kitchen table they had an impressive home set up as well. Every night Sherlock made sure to measure her and document any changes she had to report which this early was still few along with a small collection cup of her urine she left him every morning which after a near very embarrassing mishap with John she made sure to very clearly label.  
"Anyone in the flat?" She asked aloud. She knew Sherlock was on a case that had taken him out of town for a few days but he often forgot to update her on his whereabouts. John tried to help by reminding him or simply texting the women himself but this case had ranked an 8 and both men had been excited by the challenge. She wandered the flat in nothing but an old black sports bra and tight shorts for exercise. She had spent so much of her life training for dance that even when she had not done so professionally in years she still had a regimen she kept to though she had been lax since moving. She tucked her iPod into the waist band of her shorts and popped small earbuds she used for when she was going to be moving around into her ears turning up the volume and shaking her limbs loose with easy stretches before moving into the harder part of her routine.  
She rolled her neck feeling the joints pop. She had not been with a man since Sherlock and with all these little kisses she had been getting she felt like she was on a constant low boil with sexual tension which the hormones were not helping with. The night before they had video chatted so he could get his measurements and Sorrena had nearly fainted when his image popped up with him in nothing but a sheet wrapped around him. She scrolled to her list of song she danced to she wanted to pretend she was some kind of sexual being and let her movements shift.  
Sherlock and John moved up the stairs. Both men were slower then normal sporting a few sore spots from this case. The building was oddly quite and Sherlock found, though he didn't understand why, he was worried. Sorrena could very easily be out of the flat doing some shopping or more likely getting some work done in the lab. When they opened the door to the living space they had to stop. Their chairs and table had been pushed to the edges of the room to make space for the dancer standing in the middle. Bent over at the waist nose pressed fairly to her knees and palms flat on the floor one leg was straight up into the air completely vertical in an impressive show of flexibility, there was a slight tremor as her body fought the strain but her eyes were closed and her breathing relaxed with a slight push the second leg joined it in the air and she was perfectly balanced on her hands. She waited like that for a few moments before lowering the feet over her head now moving into a back bend and pushing herself back to standing.  
She mumbled her music a bit to herself and rolled her hips still unaware of her spectators. John blushed and Sherlock smirked. She slowly, almost sensually slid to the ground in a horizontal split and lowered her upper half to the ground but she couldn't make it all the way to the ground due to the slight bump so she resolved for resting on her elbows. Both men could hear the muffled sound of her music from her head phones but neither wanted to startle her so they waited for her to notice them. Sorrena let her legs swivel back together as she lay on the floor for a few moments enjoying the soreness that came with working her muscles to their limits. She had been working out for nearly an hour when she felt the air shift behind her and was meet with the two men looking at her in surprise. She pooped out the ear phones and gave them a quizzical look.  
"How long?" She asked as she tried not to feel self conscious in front of them. She had been using this time to get out some of her energy that she would rather be using to jump Sherlock's bones.  
"You have impeccable balance despite putting on another three pounds." Sherlock commented.  
"I think that was a compliment yet I find I kind of want to hit you for it" she muttered. She went to pull the chairs back into place but John brushed her away.  
"You shouldn't be doing anything that strenuous Jack" he reprimanded moving it for her.  
"I have been doing those routines for years I'm not about to stop now" she sighed. She was going to be gaining enough weight was it was she was not letting her self get to far out of her comfort zone.  
"Just, when you get further along you will have to tone it down" John amended.  
"It would be unwise to be doing hand stands while heavily pregnant" Sherlock added and she scowled at him. She jumped off the sofa and stocked off to their room.  
"Where are you going now?" Shelrock was still unsure of how these affections worked but as he had been gone for a few days and this was her day off he was confused with her escape.  
"To entertain myself" she utters harshly ignoring his confused expression.  
"What have I done wrong?" He asked John who was finishing up resetting the room.  
"Sherlock, not to be to personal but you and Sorrena, are, you're, well do you get, intimate with her?" John tried to ask gently. With out Sorrena there to cut the sociopath off he often shared to much detail.  
"Not since she was impregnated no we have not"  
"But you do understand that she wants those kinds of things right?" John asked.  
"Why ever would she, she is already with child and further acts would not be productive" Sherlock surmised.  
"Jesus Sherlock a women like Jack with all those hormones and the sexual tension between you it no wonder she has not combusted" Sherlock still looked unsure of John's meaning.  
"Do you ever just thing about absolutely ravishing her?" Sherlock felt his face flush. Since she moved in they sometimes kissed and every time it took a turn towards passionate she would pull away and leave him uncomfortably hot and his pants tented.  
"Don't answer that, just, jesus Sherlock. You're in a relationship you both obviously care about each other I would say love but I don't need the two of you yelling at me so I won't say it but bloody hell Sherlock help the girl out" John could see the changes in his friends expression.  
"How?" Sherlock asked, his voice deeper.  
"I think you can figure that out" John made himself scarce, quickly running up to his room while Sherlock snuck into his own. She was laying flat on her back staring at the ceiling taking even calculated breaths.  
"What do you want zombie boy?" Sherlock didn't answer, lowered himself over her resting on his elbows. She popped an eyebrow in question but her breathing had already quickened in arousal. He kissed her deeply pouring on all the heat he had built up after one night of passion then nearly four months of nothing. He didn't say any words while he quickly helped her from her clothing and she did the same for him. They moved back together quickly and for the first time in months Sherlock felt the passion for life again joined with her his mind stopped racing and focused on nothing but the body that moved against his. They finished together and lay back on the bed in a post coital haze, chest heaving.  
"Why didn't you tell me this is what you wanted of me?" Sherlock finally asked.  
"I wanted you to come to it all on your own, like I said. I don't want to rush you" Sorrena said shyly.  
"I have thought about that night in the lab so many times I think I would like some new material for my mind to process" he grinned slyly and rolled over on top of her again.  
"Or you could just have the real thing no mind palace required" she used her own strength to switch their positions.  
"This will not work when you get larger" Sorrena sighed and dropped off of him her smile falling.  
"I have said something wrong" Sherlock guessed and she gave him a pointed look.  
"You have no reason to fear for your size, it is only natural and healthy for you to grow larger. It is impractical to think other wise." Her expression didn't change.  
"But I will find you beautiful not matter your size because you will be large with my children" he kissed the slight swell and she smiled patting his head.  
"Good save beanpole" she closed her eyes and let the feeling of Sherlock running his fingers over her bare skin lull her back to sleep for an afternoon nap. Sherlock dropped off beside her after a three day case with no sleep.

"This is not going to be a good morning" Sorrena muttered to herself. Now officially four months pregnant the bump was becoming noticeable even in her looser shirts. She often caught officers glancing at it as she passed and whispers between Anderson and Donavon and spread like wildfire about her trying to hide the pregnancy to wild guesses at the father. She was due to be in to work. Most of her morning sickness now gone she had easier mornings and with a case waiting for her and Sherlock in the lab he had woken her early so they could leave together but she knew he was not above leaving with out her.  
"What could possibly be taking you so long?" Sherlock called from his chair as a way of a last warning and her frown deepened. She heard the door close as he raced down the stairs with out her and she sighed still standing in front of the floor length mirror hands resting on either side of her baby bump. She heard the door to their room push open to let John in.  
"You ok then?" He often took on the doctor role. While Sherlock monitored every aspect of her changes from the growth of her belly to the hormones in her pee and the decreasing frequency of her illness it was John who comforted her more human aspects and showed real open concern for her personal well being though she knew some where in there Sherlock cared as well. Her back was to him and she looked alright with her hair plaited over her shoulder and a dark shirt still rolled up and her favorite zipper pants.  
"They won't button" She hated the tone of her voice, she sounded weak and whiny.  
"What?" John was not entirely sure what was going on yet. She turned to face him and he saw her displeasure as her favorite pants would not close around her swollen middle. He smiled warmly and pulled her into a hug letting her rest her head on his shoulder for a bit. He felt her breath hitch but she held back the tears and after a few minutes as he gently rocked her she settled and pulled away.  
"Well that was a bit dramatic" she huffed annoyed with her display knowing this really wasn't a big deal.  
"Don't worry about it. It's completely normal. You should have been wearing looser clothing for awhile now and now we have an excuse to force you to do so" John tried to make it sound like a good thing she would need new cloths but she grimaced and started trying to wiggle out of the to tight pants. John left her to change and when she came out she looked dressed for the day but displeased with her outfit which was considerably tamer then her normal attire.  
"It's only a few more months Jack" he reminded her but she still scowled pulling on a coat and marching down the stairs her foot falls a bit heavier then needed. John watched from the window as she hailed a cab and followed Sherlock off to her lab.  
When she got there Sherlock already had her music playing. He opened his mouth to comment on her tardiness but catching the look on her face, her body posture, the amount of force that she had thrown down her bag and her unusual attire he wisely swallowed his words and went back to work.

John could hear the front door slam and the sound of heavy foot falls running up the stairs. Sherlock came spilling into the room, he managed to slam the door and lock it before take off down the small hallway into his room where he closed himself in and locked that as well. A second person ran up the stairs as well slamming into the now locked front door.  
"I'm going to kill you Sherlock Holmes" Sorrena screamed as she scrambled with her keys to her the front door open. John sat still, wide eyed and afraid to interfere when she busted through the door and stood there chest heaving. She scanned the room.  
"Where the hell is he?" She demanded dangerously. John looked pointed down the hall and she stomped there. Now that all the slamming was done he could make out the muffled sound of music coming from behind the barricaded bedroom door. She jiggled the handle to test and found it locked so she slammed her fist against it instead.  
"Open the damn door Sherlock" if she was breathing heavily from her run up the stairs or her anger John wasn't sure.  
"I don't thing that would be wise" he called back from inside. John approached carefully as Sorrena swung and split her knuckles against the wood of the door. She cursed as the blood started running down her arm.  
"Jack, enough. You're going to hurt yourself or the babies. You need to calm down your going to make your blood pressure skyrocket" John tried to calm her.  
"Me, no, I'm not going to make my blood pressure go up it this ass hole" she hit the door again leaving a smear of blood.  
"I do not see why this is such a problem. You were a performer and as such people were meant to see the performances were they not" Sherlock stayed in the safety of their room.  
"Let me in Sherlock" she demanded hotly.  
"Were you aware you use my name more often she you are angry with me then when you are trying to be nice to me" Sherlock questioned and John rolled his eyes.  
"That's it, no access for a week" she smirked and John frowned.  
"Did you just refuse him sex?" John asked. Sorrena gave him a look and laughed a little.  
"No, I would never do that to myself. Hormones are a bitch, no I refused to allow him his samples and measurements" she smirked satisfied.  
"You are going to ruin my data if I can not regulate the input flow" Sherlock was getting moody and the music had cut off. She tried the door but it was still locked. She slammed her fists again a few times in frustration. John pulled her away carefully to keep her from hurting herself further, two knuckles already busted and bleeding freely. He bandaged them softly while she glared daggers in the direction of the offending door. As soon as she was done being patched up she jumped out of Sherlock's chair and grabbed his original skull from the mantle beside the one she had gifted him.  
"What did he do?" John asked while she was slipping on her coat.  
"He has been YouTubeing me at the Yard and now my whole god damn homicide department has seen them. All of them John, including Anderson" she huffed and slammed the front door behind her skull in hand.  
"Is she gone?" Sherlock asked as he poked his head out, sauntering into the sitting room.  
"You shouldn't stress her out like that Sherlock, it could really hurt the babies" Sherlock considered him for a moment, as a doctor Sherlock could take his advice more seriously.  
"I will keep that in mind" He agreed. Sherlock held up his computer with a smirk.  
"Want to see what I found?" He baited John and damn his curiosity the doctor couldn't say no but he certainly wouldn't be mentioning this to Jack.

Sorrena forced her way into Mycroft's private study past the old men giving her dirty looks she shouldn't be there she knew but she was on mission damn the men and their traditions. She certainly looked startling with a loose shirt that was begging to tighten around her baby bump now nearly four and a half months along and new purple plaid pants Molly had found her. Her hair in a high ponytail with some sweeping bangs cut in and heavy plum and gold painted eyes.  
"Miss Macotii you shouldn't be here, how exactly did you get in?" Mycroft caught her look and sat back in his chair.  
"No one was stupid enough or brave enough to get in my way" her voice was cutting.  
"My brother has upset you I see, can't be good for the little ones" he smirked as she huffed at him.  
"Shut it ass hat I just need to hide something" She slammed the stolen skull onto the edge oh his desk and he gave her a questioning look.  
"This is the last place he will willing look for anything" she explained and Mycroft nodded to her brilliance.  
"I would much prefer you call me by my name" he offered her tea and gestured for her to sit.  
"No time for tea, I have an experiment to work on back in my lab" she sighed a seat would be lovely about now but she really did have work to do.  
"I believe we got off to the wrong start Miss Macotii you must understand" he tried to explain. Sherlock had ensured if he found out Mycroft had kidnapped or contacted Sorrena again he would greatly regret it and he wasn't prepared to test his little brother just yet.  
"Don't worry about it Mycroft. Like I said, I understand you were trying to protect him better then most. I really don't hate you, just your methods" she smiled kindly and turned to leave.  
"Let my men drive you back at the least" He offered and she accepted politely.

Sherlock looked up from their most recent video to the mantle.  
"John, where is my skull?" He glance about the flat but didn't spot it.  
"I think Sorrena took it" John tried not to laugh when Sherlock swore and redressed to run out after the girl to find his stolen property.

Sherlock sat at in the lab watching Sorrena as she worked. The lights were on but the room was still darker from the lack of sunlight streaming in. It was nearing midnight and although she didn't stay up with him often to work anymore, growing two human beings sapping most of her energy, she was deep in an experiment and hadn't been paying much attention for most of the day. He frowned when he didn't spot any remnants of food around her station. He searched his brain for where John was today but he must have deleted it because he hadn't the faintest clue.  
If John was not here to ensure her health and Sorrena was lost in thought much like himself then there was a strong probability she had not yet eaten today, it was a wonder she hadn't fainted yet though she was swaying slightly. He pulled off his head phones once the music had been lowered. It she still didn't look up from her work and Sherlock got the chance for the first time in awhile to observe her uninterrupted.  
She was wearing a floaty top in deep green that matched her eyes perfectly and dark grey pants looser then she wanted them to be but necessary for her growing form. Her hair was down for a change and swept over one shoulder her neck pale and stretched out as her eyes framed in black shadows and sweeps of gold focused on the chemicals she was measuring out onto the skin samples Molly had provided her. She was trying to document the varying appearances of chemicals burns based on their chemical composition. The green of her irises sparked as the samples touched the deceased skin and there was a violent hiss and sizzle, vapor rising from the reaction. The light smile on Sherlock's face faded as he frowned. He would have to remember to consult John on the safety of these chemicals around his children.  
The atmosphere was giving him an idea. He first needed a change in music, he unlocked her iPod and scrolled till he found a playlist of soft music and he gently wrapped his arms around her waist letting his head rest on her shoulder, he could see her smile out of the corner of his eye.  
"Are you sure you want to do that right now" She gestured with the hand still holding the corrosive agent but she didn't pushed him away instead she leaned back into the contact.  
"Have you eaten today?" He had already deduced the answer but he wanted to hear her voice. She and been incredibly focused today and hadn't spoken to him since the night before.  
"What time is it?" She was genuinely surprised to find it so late in the day.  
"You should not skip meals" Sherlock reprimanded.  
"I hadn't meant to" she set about sealing up the containers of chemicals surrounding her, she was annoyed with the light tremble in her hands.  
"Go sit and rest, I will finish this here" Sherlock was gentle with her guiding her to a chair and cleaning up the mess she had created through out the day. She sat with her hands gently steepled over her growing belly.  
"What would you like to eat?" Sherlock had finished now standing in front of her she frowned a bit, she hadn't realized she and drifted off. He kneeled down in front of her kissing the crown of her bump first then traveling up till he found her lips. He had grown steadily more comfortable with initiating their intimacy when in private and Sorrena was surprised to find he could sometimes be a bit of a romantic.  
"Anything fried, nutter butters, and whip cream" she finally decided. She had already started having strange craving which meant for the most part sending John out after strange combinations as Sherlock saw no point in going and no amount of persuasion would change his opinion.  
"Nutterbutter?" He asked and Sorrena giggled at his confusion.  
"It's a type of cookie" she tried to explain.  
"Ah, please do not tell me you wish to consume these things together" he grimaced.  
"Fine I won't tell you" she smiled then gasped her hands clutching on either side of her baby bump.  
"What! What is happening?" Sherlock was frantic with concern at her sudden exclamation.  
"No, nothing bad, I, felt them move" her smile was wide and her eyes watered as she pressed her hands to the area where the flutter had come from deep within her. Sherlock slipped his own hands under hers but felt nothing.  
"At five months fetal movements will often begin however small they often can not be felt from out side the womb for another month" Sherlock frowned as he recited the information he had stored away.  
"This is simply unfair" he was displeased Sorrena cupped his face in her hands and pulled him closer.  
"Right now your kids are making me fat, making me want weird foods, making me tired all the time, making my feet hurt, my back hurt, and making me pee every ten minutes. Let me have this one little thing to myself for a bit then we can share." She kissed him gently and he smiled.  
"Let's get them some food" Sherlock helped her from her seat. Two babies at just over five months of development had changed her center of gravity and she was beginning to struggle to stand.  
"You should not stand so often, it is putting more strain on your back" his fingers brushed the tightened muscles as she walked. She grunted at the contact and he pressed his fingers in deeper.  
"Just don't tell John I didn't eat today ok" she sighed when he pulled away.  
"Where is my skull?" He questioned seeing an opportunity.  
"Wrapped around that gigantic brain of yours" he rolled his eyes at her sarcastic comment.  
"I'm not telling you. Do you know how many times I have caught Anderson watching the video of me dancing to Talk Dirty" Sherlock tensed beside her.  
"I will have to remedy that quickly" Sherlock said through clenched teeth.  
"Bring me the Nutter Butters and I will pretend not to know what you mean by that" she agreed and Sherlock laughed.  
"I will find you your cookies"  
"And not just any cookies Moptop it has to be Nutter butters" She demanded.  
"As you wish" he kissed the side on her head as they made it outside and he flagged them a cab home.  
John found them on the sofa the next morning. Her head in his lap while his hand was placed flat against her rounded belly raising above her trying to feel anything going on inside. The couple was surrounded by the crumbled remains of a package of Nutter Butters and a empty canister of whip cream.  
"Craving start then?" John asked quietly and Sherlock hummed in agreement.

Sorrena sat in Lestrade's office letting her mind wander while she watched Donovan and Greg argue. She was needed on two case but she was stretched thin as it was and they couldn't seem to settle on where she should be placed. She absently rubbed the side of her swollen belly. Only five and a half months along and she felt like a boat, both the babies had been active most of the night and she was running on fumes all ready. He phone buzzed in her pocket and she worked it awkwardly out of her jeans with out notice from her superiors.

I need to speak with you promptly, it is of the upmost importance- MH

Sorrena was surprised, Mycroft had kept his word to Sherlock so far and not directly contacted her at any point making sure to stay well in the back ground.  
"Well if you guys just want to let me know when this stalemate is decided, babies want red vines and peanut butter" she made a show of working herself up off the chair and Lestrade looked guilty for keeping her.  
"I'm sorry Jack, didn't mean to keep you. I can always text you" she smiled and left the room quickly dialing the older Holmes number.  
"Holmes" he answered monotone.  
"I know just enough to know you prefer calls and that text just saved me from a very tedious discussion so I'll bite. What's up?" He cleared his throat a bit before he answered.  
"Mummy would love the opportunity to meet you. She and our father came into town yesterday and Sherlock refuses to allow a meeting for everyone. Since I believe you are the more reasonable side of this relationship I thought best to try again by asking you directly" Mycroft explained.  
"Your mom, wants to meet me?" Sorrena frowned. She couldn't imagine a good reason Sherlock wouldn't want her to meet his parents unless. She frowned to herself as she walked. Unless he was embarrassed of her, of their children. She swallowed as her throat closed with emotion.  
"That would be the simplified version yes" Mycroft always sounded bored no matter the subject.  
"If you wish a car can pick you up and we can lunch together. Sherlock need not be involved" he offered. Sorrena felt life her feeling were swirling inside her. She was mad, and she was sad, and she was a tad bit vengeful.  
"You know what that sounds perfect" Mycroft could deduce she was not in the best of spirits.  
"Oh and Mycroft could you have them bump up my appointment to eleven with Dr. Nolls today?" She asked. Sherlock insisted on being at every meeting with the doctor using the chance to add more detail to his notes as the man checked her cervix and sonograms.  
"I see no reason for that to be a problem" Mycroft agreed nodding to Anthea who set off to have it done.  
"Thank you Mycroft. I will see you then." She hung up and smirked. Sorrena didn't return to her lab where Sherlock would be waiting for her. He had planned on taking her to lunch around noon to ensure she ate, someone had let it slip she had gone a few days with out eating and John had had a fit, then they were scheduled for an appointment with the doctor but Sorrena was feeling cheated. He didn't want her to meet his parents with him there then she would do it on her own, and she would go to the doctor on her own as well. She was only a short cab drive from his offices and she if she walked she would be there within the hour. She took on a lazy stroll. In the sun it was a bit to warm for her coat but the wind had a chill to it.  
"Miss Macotii" the nurse greeted warmly when she made it to be quickly moved into the exam room.  
"You changed it up on us today Sorrena" Dr. Nolls greeted.  
"And with out your lovely partner" he looked surprised. Sherlock usually lurked a bit to close to the doctor.  
"He's on probation today" she grumbled. Dr. Nolls smiled kindly and rubbed her shoulder. The man was ever the professional and didn't ask further. She laid back while he ran his exam. He quickly finished mentioning for her to take her feet out of the stirrups and lay flat prepping her for the sonogram.  
"Any movements?" He asked as he moved the prob through to the thick, cold gel.  
"Plenty but nothing anyone else can feel"  
"And the morning sickness?" He continued.  
"Cleared up about a week ago. But I have some crazy cravings" she answered.  
"Well I see nothing out of the ordinary. They are both doing remarkably well and you are looking good. Have you been putting on weight?" He asked and Sorrena grimaced.  
"Some, I mean I have always been on the smaller side and I still do my stretches every morning" she smiled and chose not to admit to skipping a meal or two occasionally. He frowned a bit.  
"I would like to see you put on a bit more. It would be healthier for the fetuses." He gave her a reproachful look and she looked down out of guilt.  
"Your work out should be fine as long as it's not to strenuous just don't over do it and add more calories to your daily intake." He advised.  
"Are looking to know the sexes before they are born?" The doctor asked as he handed her a towel to clean herself off. Sorrena chewed her lip, they really hadn't discussed it at all but she knew what she wanted.  
"No, I, I want that to be a surprise" she made her decision.  
"Very well" he smiled and handed her a few sheet of paper she have him a quizzical glance.  
"For your partner when he is no longer on probation" she found they were detailed notes from his examination and their discussion.  
"Thank you" she tucked them into her satchel. She found a text on her phone when she left.

Where are you? Lestrade wants you to works the Devrochee case while I an being forced to work with Donavon. Apparently we are to divide and conquer.-SH There was another text from ten minutes after the first.

Where are you Sorrena. I know you left the New Scottland Yard and 9:46 and even with your uneven gate due to the weight put on your pelvis and hips by my children it would not take you over an hour to get from the yard to Bart's-SH. And another.

Answer me Sorrena-SH she turned her phone off. He could track her with it and he would not doubt only keep texting. A dark car pulled close and Anthea, still clutching a black berry but looking up at the pregnant women, jumped out. Sorrena climbed in with the personal assistant behind her.  
She was happy she hadn't been lazy today. With needing to be at the yard for meetings for the morning hours she had dressed in a loose blue and purple shirt, the pattern swirling around itself in a kaleidoscope effect over dark wash jeans and gold toned flats. Her make up toned back and her hair in a loose braid.  
Mycroft greeted her when they arrived helping her from the car. She was surprised to find them outside a private residence instead a restaurant like she expected.  
"Is this where you live?" She asked.  
"It is. I hope that is not a problem" Mycroft offered his arm and she placed her hand at the crook of his elbow and let him lead her in.  
"He doesn't know you are here does he?" Mycroft mused aloud. Sorrena spent enought time around Sherlock to know Mycroft didn't want an answer.  
"You are upset with him for not bringing you to meet them himself" he guessed.  
"No, I'm mad because he didn't even tell me he doesn't want his mom to meet me"  
"Ah, yes sentiment is a messy business" Mycroft grimaced at the thought. Once inside Sorrena wasn't surprised to find the home opulent full of old money treasures. It fit Mycroft to a tee save for the elderly couple nestled in the sitting room. They both had white hair, their mother was looked soft save for her penetrating eyes which found Sorrena quickly.  
"Oh, my girl your simply gorgeous, isn't she George. Such a beautiful thing." The women gushed hugging Sorrena before pulling back and placing her hand to the women's swollen middle.  
"And so big already. Oh I felt so silly with that belly I got with Sherlock" she was warmer and inviting. Her husband joined her, he seemed quite compared to her over abundance of enthusiasm his eyes sparkled as he took her in before he too pulled her into a hug.  
"Oh we were so happy when Sherlock told us he found someone. Oh we never thought we would have grand children" his smile was so kind Sorrena almost wants to cry. These people were absolutely charming, how they had two such cold and unique children she couldn't understand.  
"Yes then, food will be served shortly" Mycroft cut the show of emotions short. His parents filed past first but Sorrena held back.  
"Your parents, their, well, their normal" Sorrena tried not to sound to impressed. Mycroft sighed heavily.  
"Yes you must imagine what life was like for Sherlock and myself" he sounded as if it was the worst.  
"Yeah it must have been terrible" Sorrena rolled her eyes but moved to the dining room, babies were demanding food after her hike to the doctors earlier. Conversation was easy and Sorrena felt her mood lifting. They were kind and jovial where their children were cold and detached. They asked questions and listened no matter how inconsequential the information. His mother made her promise to come and visit their cottage while promising in turn to send some of the baby things she had started collecting the moment she had heard one of her sons had finally procreated, the two hours they been eating together moved quickly.  
"Sorrena if I may have a word?" Mycroft glance pointedly at his phone that was sitting on the table beside him buzzing.  
"He has started calling me Sorrena I think you understand the significance of this" Mycroft tried to be gentle but he was awkward and stiff.  
"Yeah. I know. Thank you for today Mycroft... This meant a lot to me"  
"Family holds a very high regard to you Miss Macotii I do understand this even if my brother does not" Sorrena smiled and nodded.  
"I will tell them you were called urgently into the office. He should still be at Bart's" Sorrena leaned up and kissed his cheek before leaving. She turned her phone back on when she reached the car and she was bombarded by 107 text and 43 phone calls. She let her head fall back. She was going to be in so much trouble. Sorrena pushed open the doors to her lab and was practically tackled by a flash of pale skin in a dark coat and floppy deep brown curls.  
"You're safe, you're not hurt?" He was frantic as her ran his hands over her, John was standing behind him looking just as concerned.  
"Yeah, yes Sherlock I'm fine" she pushed him away a bit feeling guilty.  
"I thought some one had you, I couldn't find you anywhere you normally go. I was about to start a man hunt" he was getting angry now that he had her safely back. She let her head fall against his chest.  
"John could you give us the room?" She mumbled.  
"Uh, yeah, sure" John left giving one last glance at them.  
"Please just listen to me and then be mad ok?" She asked. He didn't answer so she took it as her cue to continue.  
"Mycroft called me and said your parents were in town and that they knew about me and you didn't want them to meet me. I thought that meant you were ashamed of me, of us and of them" she guided his hand to her bump he slipped his fingers under the fabric to feel the skin.  
"I was trying to hurt you by going behind your back and meeting them. But they were such lovely people and I think, if I know you well enough, you weren't keeping them away from me you were keeping them away from you and now I feel like an ass."  
"And the appointment?" He was still ridged beneath her fingers only him palms were soft against the skin of her abdomen.  
"I went on my own to get back at you for not telling me I could meet your mom and dad" he frowned deeper.  
"I don't want to fight with you Sherlock. I have no reason to, I was wrong and I am sorry. I have the note from Dr. Nolls and I will let you have what ever samples you need but please don't be mad at me" a tear slipped down her cheek. He let out a breath and pressed a kiss to her forehead.  
"I wanted you to meet my parents. I am very proud of what we have but they can be a bit over whelming, they simple have no sensitivity to my preference in physical contact. I was preparing myself for their visit. I did not foresee Mycroft superseding my plans and bringing you into his plan. That was rather clever of him, my Mother insisted no doubt. I am glad that you met them. I found myself exceedingly concerned, I feared for the worst when you no longer answered even my calls. I am not happy you went for an appointment with out me but it is done." He leaned down further to press a kiss to her lips as well. Sherlock waited for her to smile when he felt the slighted thump against his palm. He looked into eyes his own full of excitement and of joy.  
"That was a strong one" she admitted.  
"I felt my child move" he was in awe and Sorrena smiled letting her emotions wash away he pressed a little harder into her side but he didn't get another.

Sherlock sat in his chair thinking, hands steepled and eyes closed. Sorrena was still working but he had finished his case work with Donavon and had returned to Baker Street believing some case may have been sent in by now but there was nothing over a four, nothing worth his time. He could hear John moving around in the kitchen preparing his tea no doubt.  
"I forgave her" he muttered when John sat down across from him.  
"I imagine that's for the best" John wasn't sure where this was going and it put him on edge.  
"She deliberately set out to hurt me. I had every right to be angry with her yet all it took as a sniffle and I forgave her. What is happening to me John, I'm going soft" he look genuinely upset with the idea.  
"You really are an idiot. You're in love with her, that is what love does. Being angry with her would have hurt her and you can't hurt her so you can't be angry with her." John tried to explain.  
"It really is a defect" Sherlock muttered sitting back.  
"It's a good defect to have Sherlock" Sherlock gave him a look, no defect was a good defect.  
"No Sherlock it is. Would you want to have her leave, forget about you about to be a father or seeing her working when she does that little hip thing she does when she has found something good in her research that you always watch for. No seeing her laugh or smile or what ever it is you two share when no one else is looking" John held up his hand to stop him from interrupting, the doctor didn't want to know about their sex life.  
"I think it is rather clear that I did not want her to leave, I did stop,her from doing so" he answered.  
"Then you like being defective" John surmised and Sherlock inclined his head in acknowledgment to John's logic. He steepled his hands and settled back into his mind palace to store away the new information he now had. Perhaps he was in love with Sorrena Celeste Macotii but what to do with this data he was not sure.

Sorrena sat in the middle of the bed she shared with Sherlock she had only just showered her hair still damp and clinging to her naked back. Her hands drew patterns across her tightening skin. She closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of her babies moving inside of her. They were both active and in the silence if she focused hard enough she could distinguish which movements came from which baby. She smiled when the began to slowly settle down.  
"Your father is a very brilliant man I hope you both take after him" she spoke to them softly.  
"He already loves you both even if he doesn't know how to say it. I love you too. Your like two tiny miracles because not only should mommy have never been able to get pregnant even if she could no one really wanted her like your dad does and she never thought she would meet someone who could change her life the way your daddy did. Who could make me see the light in life again. I have a secret but you mustn't tell him. I love your father very much and I'm scared to tell him that because he doesn't believe in love like I do. So we will just have to keep that to ourselves" she felt them both still again as she hummed for them before moving off the bed to dress.

Well you guys can be mad at me or what ever because this chapter was suppose to cover her whole pregnancy and it didn't. It got really really long and she still has three and a half months to go. I'm trying to build their relationship slowly and I hope you like it. I do love Mycroft, he doesn't always have to be the bad guy even when he is doing something Sherlock doesn't approve of. So...everyone knows now and now we get to see a little family form. So tell me what you think and I will do my best to not cry if you hate everything I have done. Shout out to all the lovelies who have been there since the beginning and SH Ships Sherlock...yep that's it for now. Seriously this chapter is stupid long...sorry... Don't hate me...

-Thieves


	24. Chapter 24

So it continues then...thank you to everyone who is still reading and following along. So more of me getting to mess with these characters...I don't have much to say today...

p.s.: I am so so sorry this last chapter I'm working on is killing me so I'm going a bit mad and because I love you all so much I am only half done with the next chapter but I'm going to go ahead and give this one to you guys now so you better review and tell me how awesome I am for this because I'm breaking my rules for you guys! Hope you like this one...

Disclaimer: Mycroft owns the whole wide world and we are all his little puppets, and I own nothing...

Preview: More babies more problems...

Sorrena stretched her arms palms flats to the ceiling trying to relieve some of the pressure on her back and pelvis. Six months in now and her babies were getting big. She let her head fall back. She felt like nothing more then a pile of aches and pains lately. Molly pushed into the lab and smiled.  
"You're getting really big" Sorrena raised a brow at her friends words.  
"Oh gosh, no I mean the little ones, and your, yeah" Sorrena shook her head sadly.  
"No Molly I'm huge it's ok, I am well aware"  
"No, well your big but your not huge yet" Molly's blush deepened.  
"I don't mean that in a bad way" Molly squeaked. Sorrena laughed and hunched back over her scope.  
"Lestrade wants me to run samples from under the nails of Mr. Dompher" Sorrena said while she adjusted her view. Molly set the samples down next to her and frowned watching Sorrena scowl and rock side to side slightly.  
"Jack, that must be killing your back" she was concerned the dark haired chemist never showed pain. Molly walked behind her placing her hands on the other women's lower back and pressing gently.  
"Oh my god Jack. How are you even still standing" Molly exclaimed. The muscles were bunched so tightly she couldn't tell bone from tissue.  
"It's just a little ache, nothing much" she shrugged but when she tried to straighten out Molly pushed her forward instead. The pathologist used nimble fingers to work out the kinks as she listened to Sorrena sigh and relax into the touch.  
"Oh my glorious relief Molly I think I want to marry you" she mumbled into the table top as she rested her head on her folded arms. Molly pressed in harder.  
"Right there Molly, please god right there" she called out when her friend found a particularly tender spot. They both jumped when some one cleared their throat.  
"Should I come back later?" Lestrade asked and Molly jumped away. Sorrena lifted herself up slowly feeling the echoes of the pain still in the muscles. Her hand rested lightly under her growing belly that had rounded out leaving her looking like she had swallowed a ball.  
"What do you need boss man?" She asked moving to him her walk already becoming a bit of a waddle.  
"Just some confirmation on another labs findings" he held up a file and she pulled it into her hands flipping through the pages.  
"So you need me to translate the sciencey stuff for you?" She winked and he laughed with Molly.  
"Yeah, if you didn't mind" she read for a few minutes chewing her lips in concentration when her breath hitched and she grabbed Lestrade's hand pulling him forward with out warning. He stumbled a bit as she pressed his captive hand to her belly and he felt movement under her skin. He forgot everything for a second and beamed at her.  
"Is that?" He asked in awe  
"Yeah" Sorrena was so happy she was nearly in tears. Lestrade kissed her forehead and kept smiling giving a little pressure to her abdomen in return he got another kick to his palm. Molly watched from the side till Sorrena pulled her in too brushing Lestrade's hand away and replacing it with the pathologists smaller one.  
"Oh gosh Sherlock must love this" Molly gushed, on their lunches together Sorrena kept her friend filled in on Sherlock's insistence on monitoring every detail of her pregnancy. Moly thought its was sweet.  
"Shit" Sorrena groaned.  
"What's wrong?" Molly's face dropped with concern.  
"Well, that was sorta the first time you could really feel it" Sorrena blushed. She hadn't been thinking when she pulled her boss to her just surprised by the strength behind the movement she wanted to share it.  
"So I got to feel Sherlock's kids before he did" the DI sounded smug  
"If you tell him I will hide your most precious possession and trust me I have some very good hide holes so don't push me boss man" she hissed in warning. Lestrade took a surprised step back.  
"Don't worry Jack we won't tell him, but that was amazing, can I?" Molly asked gesturing with her hand and Sorrena moved a little placing the pathologists hand on the other side of her bump.  
"Let's get the other one going too" Sorrena grinned wickedly.

Sorrena woke slowly and it was already dark outside. She had come home early for once at Sherlock's insistence that she was working herself to hard for her condition. He was starting to coddle her ever since had mentioned during a visit she was a bit under weight Sherlock had started all but force feeding her and when John came home the day before to find her swaying catching her just in time as she fainted Sherlock had been a right ball of furry for hours. He had called in his ace up his sleeve by getting Lestrade and Molly in as well until her entire support system was forcing her into a cab destine for Baker Street. She had been quickly stripped from her clothing and pressed into the bed by Sherlock and not in the way she wanted but she had fallen asleep to quickly to disagree whole heartedly with the man. She could smell food cooking as she pulled on an over sized shirt and sweats that still fit.  
"John?" She called out as she shuffled through the flat.  
"John is on a date, or working I'm really not sure" Sherlock answered from the kitchen.  
"Then who is cooking?" She asked rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She couldn't be seeing this right. Sherlock Holmes was standing in the middle of their kitchen wrapped in his dark blue dressing gown stirring a pot.  
"I am" he answered simply not turning to greet her.  
"You're cooking?" She tilted her head still startled by the situation.  
"I just said that. I don't repeat myself it's dull do keep up" he reprimanded ladling soup into two waiting bowls she followed him to their seats.  
"You cook?" She was enjoying this a bit to much.  
"Of course I can cook, I did survive in my own for sometime and after all it's nothing more then simple chemistry." Sorrena spooned the warm broth into her mouth and savored it.  
"You are very good at chemistry" she moaned. This was better then her cafés soup any day.  
"I am aware" he certainly wasn't humble Sorrena mused.  
"Does John know you can cook?" Sorrena smirked.  
"I don't see why that's important" he was short and Sorrena knew she had caught him.  
"You know if he did know he would stop making you food" she played with her spoon before pulling in another bite.  
"There is freshly made banana pudding with nutterbutters in place of the vanilla wafers" he bribed her. Her brows shot up in surprise, her eyes wide.  
"Are there sprinkles?" She asked and he gave her a look as though he would forget her required third ingredient for her newest craving.  
"I trust I have your silence then?" She nodded enthusiastically.

"Where are you going to put these?" John watched impressed as Sherlock set up to small bassinets. Both a pale green since Sorrena refused to allow them to find out the sexes despite Sherlock's pestering. He had even slunk as low as to try and bribe the doctor only to find Mycroft was paying a higher bid for his silence. Staying in Sorrena's good graces was more important then pleasing his little brother if he wanted to meet his nieces or nephews.  
"Our room has more then enough space" Sherlock answered.  
"And when they get a bit bigger?" John asked and Sherlock gave him a quizzical glance. The doctor sighed.  
"I think it might be time for me to move out. You both could use my room for the babies" John tried to keep his voice even.  
"Don't be dramatic John you are not leaving Baker Street" John sighed, he didn't see this ending well.  
"I'm serious Sherlock" John grappled with the right words.  
"You really aren't" Sherlock was being hard.  
"No listen, this place is some where you and Jack can raise your kids. I'm not saying I'm leaving Sherlock just moving" John was working to be gentle.  
"You're not leaving John" Sherlock persisted.  
"Oh and why not?"  
"We are having the basement flat fixed for you. It has more then enough for a bachelor such as your self and will keep me in close proximity, after all, I would be lost with out my blogger" Sherlock smirked when he saw John's surprised expression.  
"You, wait, what?"  
"Me and Sorrena discussed this in some detail recently and we both came to agree that you are vital to our family and we simply couldn't have you living such a large distance away and as there is no available housing near enough for our tastes this was the most logical choice. We have already made arrangements with Mrs. Hudson" Sherlock explained.  
"And you didn't think to tell me?" John huffed he had been struggling to come to terms with this for weeks, practically since they had announced they were expecting.  
"I just did" Sherlock gave his a look like he was being to slow.  
"Yeah thanks you git, you could have told me sooner" John sighed but he was smiling.  
"It was not necessary for you to know, we will not need the space for some months" Sherlock finished the final touches on the two small bassinets and stepped back to admire them. John watched his friends face, he looked proud of himself.  
"It's starting to feel real you know" John mused.  
"That there are going to be tiny versions of you around the house" he explained when Sherlock didn't say anything.  
"Isn't it" Sherlock took pause to think of a good word.  
"Terrifying" John prompted. Sherlock shrugged, he was feeling the terror for sure but perhaps not as John was referring so he said nothing. He had never thought about being a father but it was a bit late to be having these thoughts so he pushed them away to be dealt with later as he and John moved the finished furniture into his room sliding perfectly into the space he had made for them.

John could hear giggling from the living room as he came down from his room.  
"But seriously you think that work?" Sorrena asked.  
"Of corse it would work. I would drug you easily, you practically gulp water after your morning stretches so the drugs would go unnoticed and with your increased heart rate and respirations it would move quickly in your system then I would stab here and here so you would bleed out quickly. It's efficient and the mess it would make, well I'm sure you could appreciate the artistic value to exsanguination." Sherlock answered and Sorrena giggled.  
"What the hell are you to on about at" John checked his watch.  
"7 in the morning?" They were sitting wrapped around each other Sorrena mostly in the detectives lap while one of his hands rested on her back and the other was pressed to her belly.  
"We are discussing how we would kill each other" the explanation was to relaxed for the subject as she continued to giggle.  
"I don't see why my way is so funny to you" Sherlock interjected.  
"Stabbing mop top, that's a crime of passion" she wagged her eyebrows suggestively at him and he rolled his eyes.  
"Then me?" He asked.  
"Easy, I would saturate my samples with Isopharen and cote your scope with Tetrafloreen. I would be safe to touch them separately but when you stole my sample which you always do then went to work on them the chemicals would mix and create a Isodectalfloreen"  
"Which eats flesh at an accelerated rate, that as rather clever" he kissed the top of her nose and smiled. John felt a bit sick not just from their words, they had become a bit to comfortable with their affections around him.  
"What about Mycroft?" She asked innocently.  
"Oh, I would strangle him in his sleep. I already have a key to his house and I know all his security procedures, then I would put a pillow over his face. I would want the satisfaction of watching him struggle" Sherlock grinned darkly and John felt himself shudder.  
"Well that's just creepy. Thank goodness you would never actually do any of that." He shook off the cold tingling on his spine to go make himself tea.  
"How would you off John?" He heard Sorrena whisper.  
"Oh that's easy, I would use poison. I already do poison his tea. I'm testing to see if he can build up a natural tolerance to cyanide. He once lost an entire Wednesday with out noticing." John set his things aside, he no longer wanted to consume anything in the flat.

It would be in your best interest to return to Baker Street as quickly as possible -MH

John stared at the text. Mycroft never texted John unless Shelrock was really in trouble but Sherlock was standing ten feet away talking to a witness to the burglary they were going to investigate once Sherlock got a look at the crime scene. The doctor decoded he wouldn't notice if John slipped away.  
Even from the bottom of the steps he could hear the sobs coming from 221b. He rushed up the stairs, taking them two at a time and busted into their flat To find Sorrena was curled in on herself in the middle of the floor shaking with hacking sobs. John didn't see an blood but he quickly dropped to his knees beside her. Running his hands over the tight skin of her belly now seven and half months pregnant she was getting quite large.  
"Jack, I need you to tell me where your hurting so I can help you" John was using his doctor tone on her but he wasn't breaking through to her.  
"Jack are you hurt?" She shook her head no.  
"Then I need you to tell me what's happening so I can help you" she was crying to hard for words so he has beside her letting his hand run up and down her spine to calm her. She sat up a bit to curl into his side. When her sobs receded she took her chance to take deep breaths. Her face was blotchy and red, her eyes puffy her skin was tear stained. She was still shaking when she spoke,  
"I'm sorry you had to see that" she had her hear bent in shame as another particularly strong tremor went through her. John squeezed her shoulder in encouragement.  
"I...When this whole thing started Sherlock asked me to keep all of the emotional display stuff at bay because he thought it would be pointless but sometimes I just get stuck thinking about" tears dripped down her chin again and she felt another wave of sobs swell up in her chest.  
"I'm going to be a terrible mother, and I'm so fat now and if Sherlock wanted someone else he could have them and my brothers dead. I can't let Sherlock see me weak, he won't like me if I'm emotional. He can't know that I'm weak. He would leave me and I would have nothing left, I can't do this on my own so he can't know how weak I am" she started to hyperventilate, her chest started heaving again as the sadness crashed down on her again.  
"Oh Jack" John pulled her in as close as her belly would allow. She sniffles into his neck and he felt her tears wet his skin. He let her reclaim her calm again.  
"You're not weak Jack, and he is not going to leave you over this. I wouldn't let him be that much of a moron" John tugged her hand into his own so he could keep contact with her. He took a page from Sherlock and let his fingers brush the under side of her wrist so he could check her pulse which was still racing.  
"You have nothing to be ashamed of, every mom things those things. You are going to be an amazing mother, if you can deal with Sherlock you will be more then capable to handle his spawn" she smiled at his word choice.  
"You are not fat and you know that so I don't want to hear it again" John warned, even with their forced meals she still wasn't gaining much more weight then she already had.  
"And if Sherlock ever tried anything like that to you I would kill him" John promised kissing her cheek making her smile wetly.  
"I know your still sad about your brother but your life is moving forward and I sure as hell know he would be so proud of you. Of what your doing with your life, these babies, everything Jack." She felt a tears running down her check but the pain in her chest was lightening. John could feel his phone buzz in his pocket. Sherlock had more then likely noticed he was gone by now and was no doubt curious as to why.  
He helped her stand and walked her to the sofa settling her in. It was her day off and after such a emotional display she looked dead on her feet. He handed her a tissue to wipe her face and she thanked him with a light smile her green eyes blood shot.  
"Jack if you need me for that again I'm an be here. Sherlock should be doing it but if he can't handle that then I will because you shouldn't be alone like that" John offered.  
"Thank you John" her voice was hoarse from crying.  
"That wasn't the first time was it?" John sighed when she looked at him guilty. She nodded a no.  
"How long?" He sat down next to her in case she needed the comfort.  
"Since my fifth month" she admitted quietly.  
"Damn it Sherlock" John muttered under his breath.  
"That was the worst though" she nestled closer into the arm of the chair curled around her belly protectively as she rubbed the spot where one of the twins was moving absently.  
"Just call me next time Jack, no matter what, you call me" John waited till her eyes met his and she agreed. She closed her eyes when he pulled a light blanket over her.  
He felt his phone vibrate again in his pocket and he sighed as he pulled it out.

Where have you gone?-SH

Why did you leave John we are in the middle of a case?-SH

This is incredibly unprofessional of you John-SH. John quickly typed his reply.

Jack needed my help- JW

Is she well?-SH John glanced over the women who was already lightly napping. He want sure how long she had been on the ground like that but it had obviously taken it out of her.

We will talk about it later-JW John knew he shouldn't meddle, the Sorrena wouldn't want him to but he couldn't let this one slide, Sherlock needed to be there for her in every aspect if this was going to,work no matter how uncomfortable it made the sociopath.

Are the young well?-SH John smiled at his friends concern.

Their fine Sherlock, everyone is fine we just need to talk- JW

Sherlock was still at the crime scene clutching his phone. He admittedly had not noticed John's disappearance until the victim mentioned it, she seemed to hold a slight attraction for the doctor. His answers to the detectives texts when they finally came made him concerned. He texted John the address to meet him, their victims father needed to be talked to.  
He found John waiting there for him when he arrived. He was standing with his arms crossed across his chest and his brow wrinkled. What ever he had just done he was not happy with. His jumper was wrinkled and balled up under is jacket and when Sherlock got closer he found the scent of apples still lingered on the doctor so he had been holding his Sorrena close enough for her smells to rub off on him and longer even after nearly twenty minutes. There was dust and dirt on his pant legs and pressed into the knees in particular and slight scuffs on the tops of his shoes. John had recently been kneeling in their flat and had gotten into that position suddenly.  
"You are sure Sorrena and the children are well?" sherlock asked.  
"Yeah, their fine Sherlock"  
"Then why have you been on your knees recently?" John want surprised Sherlock knew what he had been doing to some extent even if he couldn't deduce the reason.  
"Because I found your girlfriend laying on the floor sobbing because she thinks you would leave her if you knew how sad she has been feeling because if all those damn hormones."  
"That's preposterous, that's hardly a logical reason I would leave her" Sherlock huffed.  
"If I were you mate I wouldn't say that around her" John gave him a hard look and Sherlock tilted his head in acknowledgment.  
"Sherlock, she said you told her not to come to you with these mood swings but it's part of helping her through this pregnancy and damn does she need you right now Sherlock. Her pulse was erratic and she could hardly get her breathing under control. I didn't even ask how she got on the floor. I know you don't do feelings Sherlock but your going to need to nut up and deal with it because she absolutely needs you and you just love it when people need you" John kept his tone under control so that Sherlock wouldn't get to worked up over this. Sherlock considered his friends words for a minute.  
"I had not entirely factored in all the variable when I made that statement . I had not meant to hurt her. I will fix this John" he promised.  
"Great, now this case" John felt pride swell in his chest. Sherlock really was growing up if he was starting to take Sorrena's feelings in to account. There was hope for this man yet.

Sherlock moved quietly into their flat. It was a shame it had not been as interesting case as he had hoped. Solving it in just under two hours. The father visited often with his aging mother who was more then a bit senile and in her old age had become a bit of a kleptomaniac only swiping small things that had gone unnoticed until she swiped a diamond covered broach and everyone had panicked. Sorrena was still dozing on the sofa balled under the blanket. He brushed away a few of the strands of hair that had fallen into her face. She opened her eyes blearily and blinked a few times.  
"Case?" She asked her voice still heavy with sleep.  
"Solved" he whispered his voice a low rumble. She let her eyes focus on him, his face was lined ever so lightly with concern.  
"Are you still tired?" He asked  
"I should get up" she mumbled but her action spoke her real answer as she pulled the blanket tighter around her. Sherlock kneeled down so he could lock eyes with her still running his fingers gently through her tousled hair.  
"Rest if you need it. The children are more active at night and do not often allow you a good nights sleep" she smiled sadly she use to have such stamina to stay up for days.  
"John talked to you" Sorrena could tell by his expression that he had gotten word from their friend.  
"I care about all aspects of your well being. Should you need me I will try to be there for you but I make no promises" Sorrena smiled pulling him closer for a soft kiss. She felt him smile against her lips.  
"What?" She pulled back to see him with a smirk.  
"If I took you now would it be considered make up sex?" He asked his blue green eyes sparked with mischief he found one aspect of her hormones did leave her nearly constantly needy. He could see her pupils dilate and she pulled him down again this time with a bit more fire.  
"You can call it what ever your want" her voice was husky and he helped her up for the sofa only to have to race after her into their room.

They were having such a lovely evening. John prepared dinner for their family of three soon to add two new additions. Sorrena was now closing in fast eight months and her stomach look gargantuan compared to her slim frame though the doctor still encouraged her to put on more weight. They ate together with easy conversation, she and Sherlock had to eat quickly so they could make it to the first of their birthing classes together. Sherlock insisted on going to learn more but Sorrena seemed uneasy with the idea.  
"We should go quickly Sorrena" Sherlock hurried her stealing her plate from under her as she finished off her last bite.  
"You know Molly volunteered to help out you really don't have to go" Sorrena tried again. She wouldn't tell him he couldn't come but she didn't see tonight going well. Sherlock surrounded by cooing women ready to pop and under the influence of hormones while their nervous husbands fluttered around them. He couldn't stop his mouth on the best of days often insulting Sorrena and then finishing off with a compliment in the same breath when he realized he had gone to far. She could only imagine what he would deduce aloud in my room full of already high strung partners.  
"I need this information to help with my documentation of your final trimester and for preparation of documenting the birth appropriately" Sorrena sighed and held her arms out so someone could help haul her out of the seat. John pulled her up and planted a kiss on her cheek.  
"Have fun" he laughed when she rolled her eyes.

John was relaxing with a book, his tea still warm beside him when he heard the door slam down stairs. He looked at the clock, they had been gone for less then an hour.  
"I don't see why this is such a problem. She was certainly not an expert and therefore her information was not reliable" he heard Sherlock grumble when the door flew open and the heavily pregnant women roughly pulled off her scarf. She tried to pull off her coat as well but she couldn't maneuver out of it in her fit so she gave up.  
"She was trying to teach us how to be calm and relaxed during labor and you just couldn't keep your god damn mouth shut." Sorrena yelled.  
"I thought it was important that the other participants knew she was an adulteress who was sexually attracted to men with pregnant wives and that was why she chose to volunteer in this position despite having no children of her own and working as a professional business women in her daily life." Sherlock answered and John sighed, his friends promise to behave had certainly not lasted long.  
"And how am I suppose to learn that stuff now. I don't just want to read a book Beanpole you know I like practice." Sorrena snarled but let Sherlock help her out of her coat.  
"Oh please, women have been birthing since the beginning of time you hardly need a women with a degree in engineering and a fetish of man stealing to help you" Sherlock shrugged and it only riled Sorrena up more.  
"I wanted this Sherlock, I wanted this and you ruined it" her anger broke as her lip trembled and tears welled up. Sherlock was thrown by the sudden change. Her mood swings were rarely so violent or sudden.  
"I don't understand" Sherlock looked to John for help but John subtly shook his head no. He wasn't going to help him on this one.  
"I, I am sorry. Please do not be upset" Sherlock lowered his voice like she was a wounded animal.  
"I will be fucking upset if I want to be" she hissed. Well her anger was certainly not gone then Sherlock backed away a bit. Even pregnant he was relatively sure she would hit him if he got to close with her fists balled at her sides white and shaking slightly.  
"John" the idea struck him suddenly and it was perfect.  
"John will go with you to the classes. The banned me, I'm relatively sure they will allow you to return if you bring along a more agreeable partner and John's a doctor. He would make a fine birthing coach for you and though he is not nearly as observant as he should be he has spent enough time me that I should be able to get at least some reliable information from him." John's face scrunched up. He was surprised Sherlock would trust him with this but he wasn't exactly looking to volunteer.  
"Now hold on a second" he tried to interrupt but his eyes found the women's shining green orbs. She was angry and sad and she was scared. She was sure she needed this class and it was terrifying her she couldn't go.  
"Would you?" Her voice trembled with emotion, John considered it for a moment till a tear dripped from her lashes and the crystal clear drop raced across her skin.  
"Yeah" he sighed and she rushed him into a hug knocking him back and catching him by surprise. She was muttering her thank you's into his jumper as he wrapped his arms around him and squeezed her. From over her shoulder he shot daggers at the detective with his glare and Sherlock shrugged. He had solved the problem of his shunning from the birthing classes and pleased his Sorrena. He would simply have John carry a tape recorder to the classes for him or perhaps he could convince Mycroft to loan him a small discrete camera that would go unnoticed. He preferred when he could get his information with images so he could make his own deductions.

John watched Sorrena as she sat surrounded by the couples chemistry set. She had sent Sherlock off hours ago to gather supplies from Molly for a new experiment she wanted to run involving the human tongues. A she given him a detailed list of testes to run on them before he returned using the equipment she would need in her lab before bringing it all home so she could do what testing could be done in the house. Her lab top was set up in front of her so they could video chat. He saw her face tense a bit before the tension released a few moments later.  
"Well tests are running now so we can only wait. I could always start" he heard Sherlock say, his voice slightly distorted by the computer.  
"No, stop trying to steal my fun" Sorrena demanded. Dr. Nolls suggested she stay close to home for the last three weeks before her due date. She had never gained the weight he wanted to her and with a pregnancy with multiples she wasn't likely to make it all the way to her due date as it was. He said her birth could be any day now and only because of that had she agreed though she argued the fact she worked in a hospital it fell on deaf ears as her entire support system agreed for once and she relented to them. Staying in the flat they ensure someone was always home with her should anything happen.  
"This is dull" he muttered but he didn't go any further. Her face tensed again and John decided something was going on. If Sherlock hadn't said anything he wasn't likely looking at the screen. John walked over to stand beside her, her screen was nothing but a wall and a few shelves, Sherlock was no doubt working on the other side of the lab.  
"Are you ok?" He rubbed her arm and she smiled to reassure him.  
"it's nothing" she still winced and he gave her a reproachful look.  
"What is nothing?" Sherlock's face now dominated the screen.  
"Just a few twinges mop top cool your jets" Sherlock's eyes widened.  
"How far apart?" He demanded  
"What, no, their false contractions zombie boy" she laughed but he still looked a bit pale.  
"How can you be sure? I'm returning now to take you to the hospital" he was off the screen before she could say anything more.  
"He better bring me my tongues" she warned John and his face crunched in disgust. Sherlock rushed in gathered up Sorrena and rushed out again she only rolled her eyes as John chuckled. It was nice to see the man so ruffled for once.

They sat in silence as the rode back to Baker Street in the back of a cab. Sherlock was scowling while Sorrena didn't even try to hide her smug expression.  
"Shut up" he warned looking at her with a sour expression.  
"I wasn't saying anything" she all but sang.  
"You were thinking it" he huffed.  
"Yes I was" she grinned  
"Want to know what I was thinking?" She teased.  
"Not particularly" he muttered.  
"I was right" she childishly stuck out her tongue.  
"Yes, fine, now do shut up" he huffed again annoyed with her but she couldn't wipe away her grin.  
"You should have just listened to me" she giggled. Dr. Nolls had confirmed she was in fact having nothing more the Braxton hicks, practice contractions. He saw no signs she was near enough to labor for them to be concerned despite both babied having had dropped slightly her belly sitting much lower on her hips now making her waddle pronounced. Sherlock didn't answer her.  
"You should have just brought me the tongues" she added, the cab driver was giving them a strange look ready to have the strange couple and their conversations out of his car.  
"Don't rush this Sherlock we will be making this run soon enough for real and I don't think we are quite ready for that" she pressed a small kiss to his cheek and left him standing outside while she waddled her way up the stairs. He had to reign in his racing mind, he wasn't sure he could do this...he wasn't sure he could be anyone's father.

Ok, this is why that couldn't be one chapter..THE LAST FOUR CHAPTERS WERE SUPPOSE TO BE ONE CHAPTER...could you even imagine how crazy that would be. She is just over eight and a half months now and very very close, are you guys excited. Bet you can't guess what happens next chapter! Will Sherlock freak out or be a pillar of calm? Will John help out or will Sherlock scare him away from his Sorrena... And most importantly will Sherlock come to terms with being a father before they babies come or is something going to snap? In other news...If you are a Johnlock fan check out John-Hamish-Watson-Dr. On tumblr you can ask John as Sherlock questions about their lives and watch their budding relationship take flight! Thank you for reading as always and please please please review so I can know your thoughts and take heed to your words. Love always.

-Thieves


	25. Chapter 25

Ah, chapter 25...so this is my favorite number, my birthday, and five chapters over what I planed for...yeah ok what ever. So now the birth. Couldn't do this with out being dramatic because it's fun, it's Sherlock, and never like to read boring. I don't care if the event that create the situation are un realistic because it works for me. Warning: this chapter will be about birth and as such I'm attempting to make this realistic, another challenge for myself. You have been warned!... In other news I want to thanks SH Ships Sherlock for their suggestions for this chapter and their kind input. Well let's get down to the deed shall we...

Disclaimer: I do not own Sherlock or anything affiliated with it but I guess I have some claim on Sorrena and look I know how to make words bold...I'm a child...( my bold stuff went away...that makes me sad...)

Preview: And into this world we welcome two new souls...

Sorrena could hear the sound of rain tatting on the windows when she woke. She was alone in their bed just as she had been the night before. With John and Sherlock off on a case she had expected them to arrive sometime in the night after the last text from John saying they were close to solving the thing but no such luck. She did her best to move off the bed feeling to big to move, she felt almost trapped there. Before she could work herself all the way up she felt a slight pain wrap around her middle. She winced running her hand over the stretched skin but it vanished as it came and she managed to make it to the bathroom so she could relieve herself. Two babies weighing on her bladder all night she was surprised she didn't wet herself.

John pried his eyes open feeling groggy and tried to stretch himself out but he was stuck bound to something warm and heavy. Ropes wound around his chest and arms holding him in place. He heard a groan and what he was tied to shifted.  
"Sherlock?" He asked his voice sounding off and pulling a bit on the ropes around his wrists wincing when they rubbed uncomfortably. The body he was tied to tensed before moving around with a bit more purpose.  
"Damn" Sherlock muttered when he he finally felt his mind click into place remembering him and John chasing their man down an old alley then hearing a loud crash and seeing John hit the floor his attacker moving forward with a baseball bat before everything went dark.  
"Are you hurt?" The doctor asked not able to see his friend strapped to his back. Sherlock ran his tongue over his split lip and gave an annoyed grunt when he couldn't open his eye all the way from swelling. His ribs ached and he was having a little pain when he breathed in but nothing he couldn't live with.  
"Only my pride I think" the detective muttered.  
"You know we wouldn't have these problems if you just called the police before running after the bad guy"  
"Shut up John" he snapped.  
"Jack's going to be pissed" John continued.  
"I said shut up John, I need to think." Sherlock scolded. Sherlock methodically tested their bindings. The ropes around his right wrist were just a bit looser then they should be, he would have to dislocate his thumb and would remove quite a bit of flesh on his hand but he could manage it with enough work. He started pulling at the bond biting back the noises of pain that threatened to escape till with one last harsh tug he was free, well marginally free. With the amount of pain he was in he was in danger of going into shock. Blood leaked from his torn flesh and he was shaking.  
"Sherlock?" John's voice was laced with concern but the detective could only grunt as he bared his teeth and fought through. He fingers slick with his own blood he picked at the knots with trembling hands. He sighed out a breath he didn't know he was holding when he felt the knot loosen and slip free after twenty minutes of fighting. He moved to the others he could reach till all that blinded him was the ropes around his torso holding him to his friend. He felt over his pockets and frowned.  
"They took my phone" he mumbled, Sorrena was going to be mad indeed. They had made a pact for the final month of her pregnancy he would keep his phone on him no exceptions.  
"Mine too" John sighed. A few more minutes of fighting with the thickest of the ropes and the two men were able to pull apart at last.  
"No guards" John asked surprised.  
"They did not know we were close and did not have plans to take us, they improvised" Sherlock tried to hide his devastated hand but John could see the paleness in his face.  
"Christ Sherlock" he exclaimed when he pulled the appendage to him. He pulled off his coat and jumper. Ripping the fabric of his undershirt to wrap it as best he could.  
"You're right John, we should call Lestrade now" Sherlock tried to sound uninterested.  
"No shit you ass, let's just get out of here before so done realizes you've almost torn your hand off to get out of the damn ropes." John pulled the detective behind him leading the duo through the twisting halls hoping to find an exit.

"Jack?" moved into the flat with a tray of some breakfast for the two of them. With the boys out she was on pregnant women watch as Sorrena called it. She wasn't allowed to be left alone as though she might start laboring if no one was there to keep an eye on her.  
"In here" Sorrena sounded put off and the elderly women went to investigate. The found the young women wrapped in a blanket on Sherlock's chair and dressed in sweats, looking solemnly at her phone dropped on the table in front of her sitting in a puddle of water.  
"Oh dear, what happened" she cooed. Pulling the girl over so her head would fall onto her shoulder for comfort.  
"I was feeling off this morning so I went for a warm shower, it felt amazing but these damn cramps won't stop so I was going to call Sherlock and then I went a bit stupid and dropped my phone in the the shower" She sniffles and bit her lip as another cramp started to build.  
"How often are you having these cramps love?" She asked softly not wanting to freak the first time mother out.  
"oh only every fifteen to twenty minute..." She trailed off as her eyes got big.  
"Not to worry dear" she kissed the younger women's hair and moved to hand her plate.  
"Eat" she encouraged  
"You will need your strength. I will call the boys and you just sit tight." She moved to go back down the stairs.  
"Oh isn't it exciting Jack, your going to have those babies in no time" she smiled before leaving. Sorrena swallowed thickly and ran her hands down her belly as the contraction hit it's peak.  
"Not with out your daddy I'm not" she warned the babies inside her.

"Do you hear rain?" Sherlock asked John. His head was still swimming a bit.  
"Yeah" John answered.  
"Then they couldn't have taken us far, it was getting ready to rain in London before we set out yesterday and it would have passed over the surrounding areas by now. And wouldn't have reached past London if we have only been out of it for a few hours. Sherlock found a door and managed to pop the lock. It swung open to reveal the torrential down pour happening around them.  
"How the hell are we going to get home?" John sighed.  
"Its only rain John" Sherlock scoffed but the crack of lighting and deafening thunder made John look up brows nearly reaching his hair line.  
"Yes well, we will need to be careful" Sherlock amended. They both tried to keep their coats around them, Sherlock trying to hold the collar of his long dark coat up against the driving rain but it was no use and they quickly soaked through. John looked like a drowned rat while Sherlock's curls were weighed down and plastered to his face.  
"Do you know where were going?" John called over the down pour.  
"Of course I know. But...I am torn as to which direction we should be going." Sherlock admitted.  
"What are you talking about Sherlock?"  
"The game is still on John but I find that with out contact with Sorrena for so long I am growing worried" the detective bite his lip nervously.  
"Look, she had another few weeks. Let's find Lestrade make sure he got the man and then he can drop us off at the flat" John knew Sherlock would be restless and irritable if he didn't have this case squared away before returning home and Sorrena didn't need that kind of stress at the moment.

"Where are they?" Lestrade asked again. The man in front of him looked rough with a bleeding lip and bruising on his neck. Some of it he had come in with some of it the DI wasn't proud to admit had come for him. The had caught the man running through London, in this weather even the cabs were not out for safety reasons by order of the city so on lone man running was pretty easy to spot. He was the suspect Sherlock had been after since the day before. He was a drug dealer who was starting to branch into weapons dealing. Mycroft had handed his brother the case and as the man was starting to get bored he took it grudgingly. Greg might have just arrested the guy and thrown him into jail happy to gloat to the consulting detective if he hadn't found the mans scarf wrapped around the ruffians neck and the criminal looking like he had very recently gone a few rounds. Finding the detectives and doctors crushed phones in his coat pockets was the final nail in the coffin to set the DI off.  
"Where are Sherlock Holmes and John Watson" he demanded again.  
"We know he was after you, we know he was close, we know this is his scarf and we know these are their phones. I know those marks on your face are from at least one of their knuckles so where are they" he was biting back his anger, not well, but he was trying.  
"He gave them to me" Jason Hamprest smirked smug sitting back in his chair but the picture was ruined a bit when he winced in pain.  
"I know that's not true becuase Sherlock Holmes is many things but he doesn't give that damn scarf to anyone not even his very heavily pregnant girl friend, I was there for that fight" Lestrade glared.  
"Well he gave it to me, maybe he just likes me more then he likes his whore" Lestrade snapped grabbing the mans collar and enjoying the look of panic on his face.  
"His girlfriend just happens to be my daughter you little prick so tell me where he is" he shouted. He didn't care that it was a lie because she might as well be his kid the way he cared about her. There was a calm knock on the door as if he wasn't on the verge of pummeling their suspect to death.

The door opened before he could answer and Mycroft Holmes stepped in as if he owned the place, the picture of calm and collected elegance in a grey three piece suit. His brow quirked at the image before him and Lestrade dropped his death grip.  
"Gregory if you could step out for a minute I would like to have a word with Mr. Hamprest about my brother" his tone was even and Jason looked like they had dropped ice into his veins because he knew what police could do to him but this man didn't look like police. Lestrade stood and left with out a word closing the door behind him.  
"You a cop?" The young man asked.  
"I am not Mr. Hamprest, in the words of my brother I am the British government and in this case that is entirely accurate. You see Mr. Hamprest you are going to tell me where Sherlock and his companion are being held" the criminal scoffed and Mycroft smiled politely.  
"Oh, Mr. Hamprest you are going to tell me but it is however entirely up to you how painful you make this process" Mycroft continued looking unaffected by the conversation.  
"You, you can't do do that" he stammered nervously looking around.  
"No ones telling me in can't" the older Holmes brother eyes sparked

Sorrena whined as the contraction hit it's peak, she stood by the window the rain so heavy she couldn't make out the street below only flashes of lightning breaking the monotony of the grey accompanying the heavy pattering was almost constant deep rumbling. It was only noon and the sun was no where in sight. She swung her hips side to side trying to help with the pain but it wasn't as helpful as she had hoped. The contraction were starting to close in on each other, now down to eight minutes apart. She had woken five hours ago and still no sign of Sherlock or John. Both their phones kept going straight to voice mail and the women of 221b had given up.  
She was being pig headed and she knew it but she couldn't let Sherlock out of this one he would be there for the birth, both for her and for their babies. She bit back a moan of pain as this contraction went further then the last before the vice like grip on her middle began to loosen again. Mrs. Hudson stood near by worrying her bottom lip. She wanted to call an ambulance for the girl but she knew she wouldn't accept it not till Sherlock and John returned but she was cutting it close any further and the older women was going to have to go against her wishes to ensure the safety of the babies.  
"I'm going to kill him" she growled when she stepped away from the window. Walking helped with the pain so she continued her route that brought her through the sitting room around the kitchen down the hallway to their bedroom and back again in the same pattern only stopping when the next contraction came.  
"Dear, we need to consider" Mrs. Hudson spoke up when the next contraction came sooner then she expected and she ended up hunched over the back of John's chair. She felt the pain building and when it would have normally leveled off this time it only notched higher and for the first time she couldn't hold back the deep moan of pain the started down in her chest. When it lifted she found tears in her eyes but she wouldn't let them fall.  
"No, we wait for Sherlock" she whispered and restarted her walk. Mrs. Hudson frowned. If she was starting to vocalize already then this was moving much faster then she expected. The older women rung her hands and discreetly exited to find her phone. There was one last person she could call for help.

"Why don't I let you have a break" Mycroft suggested as he watched the young man before him wither in his chair. Mycroft always enjoined watching what happened, it wasn't true torture in the way people thought. It certainly wasn't violent but when pressure was applied in just the right places with just the right force the results were fantastic. But his phone was ringing and very few would willingly call him while he was working.  
"Holmes" he answered. His eye brows rose in a desperate attempt to find his hair line and his usual frown deepened. When he hung up his eyes met the criminals and the young man felt himself start to tremble.  
"Are you having a bad day Mr. Hamprest because you are about to. You see the man you are holding is my brother but what's more the women who is carrying his offspring, she might as well be my little sister and she has gone into labor. Now while this should be a day of celebration I have been informed she refuses to taken to hospital until the father of her children is returned to her. Now I will give you one last chance." Mycroft smiled and the effect was enough.  
"The wharf, please don't kill me" he sobbed.  
"I will need more detail Mr. Hamprest"  
"There's an old building there, we use it for deals and such but he followed us on out way there so Denzy hit them over the head with a bat and got them down there we were going to hold them for ransom." He cried.  
"That wasn't so hard now was it" Mycroft excited calmly but he let the mask slip a bit once he was outside. Lestrade was already mobilizing.  
"I have officers running out there but any longer and I can't send men out in this weather. It's to dangerous." He sighed.  
"we need to locate them quickly detective or Sherlock is going to be in more trouble then just not answering his phone." Lestrade's eyes widened.  
"She isn't" he begged.  
"Mrs. Hudson assures me that she is, for several hours now I am told" Lestrade didn't waste time on conversation anymore running out to join his men.

"Sir" one of the men called Lestrade over he was kneeling next to a pile of wasted ropes a few saturated in blood.  
"Damn" Leatrade sighed. The one time he needed Sherlock to not be clever.  
"Sir where are they?" The officer asked toeing one of the ropes.  
"Knowing Sherlock some where between here and Baker Street " Lestrade sighed.  
"But none of them is bleeding sir" Lestrade pulled out his phone dialing Mycroft quickly.  
"They slipped the bonds but we can't find them anywhere. Do you really think they are stupid enough to go out in a storm like this?" He asked when the older Holmes answered.  
"Oh I have no doubt that he would but the real question is where would he be headed" Mycroft sighed, Sherlock simply had to make everything harder for him.  
"Well John is with his so there is at least some voice of reason"  
"They may be attempting to return to Scotland Yard to ensure the closing of another case." Mycroft suggested.  
"But Jack" Lestrade couldn't help but sigh again.  
"We must assume he is unaware of her condition Gregory. John would not want to stress her by bringing my brother back into there home with a case left unsolved in the way this one looks so they would come to your offices to ensure you did intact manage to find their man. They will be heading for Scotland Yard detective I suggest you search for them on the shortest route between there and here." Mycroft hung up quickly and pulled up a chair at the Detective Inspectors desk and pulled up his private mainframe to as to search through the CCTV feeds of London.  
"Come now Brother mine don't make this difficult" he muttered to himself.

The pain was too great, she could no longer stand. She was kneeling now on the floor in front of Sherlock's chair arms braced on the seat while she rode out another wave of crippling pain. They had come down to six minutes apart, at the peak of each pain she let out deep vibrating moans. Mrs. Hudson rubbing her back comforting her as she shook.  
"It hurts" she cried letting her head fall into the seat exhausted.  
"You've done so well but you need a hospital dear. Sherlock will find you."  
"No, please. He has to be here. We have to go together" she felt another pain building up but she fought to hold back.  
"Let me go call an ambulance dear, I will make sure he comes to you. He doesn't want to miss this." She stood to rush down stairs but stopped when Sorrena cried out in pain.  
"My back please my back" She whimpered and curled around her belly.  
"Theres to much pressure please" she called out. Mrs. Hudson returned to pressing into her back massaging the ache as she rode through it. She cooed and hushed encouraging her with gentle words. When she started to calm again Mrs. Hudson stood.  
"I'm going to call now love. Rest while you can." She patted the poor girls hair and whipped a soft cloth over her face to clean the sweat before bustling down stairs. She pulled the phone from the wall and started dialing the numbers. Before it could ring every light in the building went out, power outage.  
" !" She heard Jack scream.  
"Don't panic dear I will be right up." She pulled out some old candles and a box of matches. When she retuned the laboring women had moved to sitting with her back agianst the chair her knees up beside her. The older women could hear the soft sniffles but she didn't say anything. Right now the girl deserved a cry to herself. She went around the room placing candles and lighting them till the room glowed softly.  
"Are you ok love?" She asked when the women whimpered.  
"No" her voice was teary and strained.  
"Tell me what's wrong" she worked to sit down beside the girl.  
"It hurts so bad, I thought I could do this bit it hurts" she cried gently.  
"I need him with me, I, I can't do this with out him" she moaned as the pain started again.  
"And my water just broke" she whined as she felt the gush of fluid between her legs.

Between the flashes of light and the deafening rumble above them added only to the torrential down pour blurring his vision even with his infinite wisdom of all the was London Sherlock felt like he was at a loss. There was no cab to call, no passerby even to try and commandeer. He could hear John huffing along beside him as he held his injured close to his body trying to ignore the ache what was setting into it still high on adrenaline he knew later he would start to regret his actions but for now it was another annoyance.  
"Sherlock" John called to get his attention. The deceive was still running ahead desperate to get out of the rain but he needed to see this case closed.  
"Sherlock stop" John tried again the taller man turned to face him.  
"We need to get to the Yard quickly John" he shouted back.  
"But do you hear that?" John yelled and they both tilted their heads to find the sound. The pay phone just a few yards away was ringing. Understanding lit John's eyes and Sherlock followed the doctor as he took off in the wrong direction to answer it.  
"Hello" he tried to keep the phone out of the wind and rain curling around it.  
"Oh good, John. There are more then a few people looking for you at the moment. May I assume my brother is with you" Mycroft sounded calm as ever as if the man he was talking to wasn't standing in the middle of a monsoon.  
"Mycroft!" John asked surprised.  
"Yeah, yes he's with me" John yelled over the next roll of thunder.  
"Tell him the that is in our custody and has confessed on all counts including kidnapping. He did well but it would be best if you changed coarse and instead returned to Baker Street at once" John quickly relaid the message.  
"I will alert Gregory that you both have been found. Due to this dreadful weather he already had to call off the search with his officers but he insisted on continuing on his own." John hung up.  
"Sherlock we need to get out of this" John gestured around them.  
"We can arrive at Baker Street within the hour if we move quickly" Sherlock took off again and the doctor could only follow.

Sorrena screamed as another contraction began. The pain so heavy she was no longer even aware of the noises she was making only that it was to much and she couldn't escape it. She panted throught the pain as the women with her wiped her face. She had helped her peel off her clothing after her water had broken and after twenty minutes of helping support her as she moved helped her shuffle into the bedroom so she could lay against the head board.  
"How the fuck did I let that man convince me this was ok" she continued to breath heavy breaths as she came down. laughed  
"Oh just think of the little ones Jack, think about holding them in your arms when this is all over and done" she ran her hands down her arm patting her hand kindly where is rested on the bed.  
"We need to start talking about what going to happen dear because you are very close" the contractions were now only two minutes apart. With the power out they had no way to call for help.  
"No, no I'm not having them here. Sherlock is going to get here and then we will drive to the hospital together" tears were running down her face unchecked as she screamed again.  
"Fuck just get it out of me" she screamed and the older women could do nothing to sooth her. She gave a worried look towards the door willing someone to help them.

Sherlock reached the door first, they had taken his keys from him when they frisked him so he did his best to shoulder the door open before stepping back and giving one solid kick near the lock and it flew open. John rushed in first only to be met on the stairs by Mrs. Hudson who looked to be near tears herself.  
"Oh, John you have to help her" She cried hurriedly brushing away her tears. All eyes flew to the second floor door when a scream pierced the air sharp and most defiantly in pain. John felt himself drop into doctor mode instantly.  
"How long?" He asked  
"Oh most of the day, her water broke an hour ago. Shes at two minutes between contractions. We waited to long to call for an ambulance before the power went out." She hurried him up the stairs.  
"Grab my kit from my room" he ordered and the women ran off. John started up the stairs but stopped when he didn't hear Sherlock following him. The man looked pale his hair sticking to his face his eyes wide and fearful.  
"I...I can't" he stuttered meeting John's eyes panicked.  
"No, you don't get to do this right now. You need to get up there right now and help her because I know she is scared out of her mind right now and she is in a lot of pain but she doesn't have a choice. You made your choice Sherlock. You choose her and these babies now you have to keep that word. You are not leaving her to do this on her own. Your Sorrena is up there right now and she needs you Sherlock" his words brought Sherlock back he nodded his head still looking pale but followed anyway.  
They found her in Sherlock room as they entered she screamed agian her eyes squeezed shut tightly.  
"Jack?" John smoothed one hand over her knee, as the pain loosened she came back to them blinking wearily. Mrs Hudson slipped into the room setting his bag down on the bed beside him, Sherlock still hung back.  
"Hey, look I know your in a lot of pain. Were their any concerns for the birth that your doctor went over with you?" He asked as he pulled out latex gloved and pulled them on. She couldn't understand his words as she blinked dazed, the pain was right in top of each other now.  
"He said neither looked to be in a position that would suggest any complications for birth naturally though due to Sorrena's troubles in gaining weight he feared they may be under weight at birth" Sherlock had prepared to document the birth but he was finding himself unprepared for the actual fact that the birth of his children was happening, for what that would mean.  
"Jack I'm going to check to see how far along you are ok?" She nodded.  
"Sherlock why don't you hold her hand" John gave a gentle suggestion and the detective moved forward cautiously. Reaching out he let her grip onto his uninjured hand. She whimpered as John pressed his fingers inside feeling her. Sherlock frowned and leaned down to kiss her forehead. He finally understood what John had told him, Sorrena couldn't afford for him to be fearful now, she needed someone to be strong while she could not.  
"Ten centimeters and full effaced" John sighed.  
"I need to push, please, I need to push" she cried out as the next contraction started before the last had even left her.  
"Ok Jack this is it. Sherlock it may work best for you to sit behind her let her lay back on your chest and support her" John offered and Sherlock moved quickly pulling her into him to surround her.  
"You're doing so well" he whispered to her kissing her hair.  
"When you feel ready bear down with your chin to your chest" John instructed. He started pulling out what he would need from his bag while he kept an eye on her progress. He had delivered in a few emergency cases before but this was different, this was his friend. He couldn't help but notice just how flexible she really was with Sherlock wrapped around her holding onto the backs of her knees to pull her legs out of the way. She sucked in a breath and put her head down grunting as she pushed hard through the contraction before falling back to Sherlock's chest gasping for air. The next few contraction followed the same as she moaned and grunted trying to move the first baby down.  
"Rena love you're doing so well" Sherlock was never one for pet names but in the moment he pulled out all the stops with his affection kissing her hair and brushing his thumbs over her knees while she rested. With the next contraction she screamed as the pain and pressure built.  
"Ok, I can see the top of the head, you're just starting to crown this is going to hurt but I don't want you to tear yourself so hold back on pushing just for a moment"  
"Are you fucking kidding me!" She screamed.  
"Fucking shit it burns" her tears ran down her face and Sherlock wasn't sure how to help, if he could help at all.  
"If you want you can reach down and touch, feel it. I can see dark hair" John smiled as she shifted one hand feeling at her opening touching the slick rounded top of her child's head.  
"I can feel it" even amongst the pain she sounded awed until the next contraction started.  
"Hold back Rena, wait until John tells you to push" Sherlock couched calmly as she panted through the pain.  
"I hate you right now" she hissed at him but he didn't take it to heart. She screamed agian and shuddered as her pain level dropped suddenly as the head popped free and she found a moment of relief.  
"Heads out" John met Sherlock's eyes. The uncertainty was still there but he found emotions there he had never seen in the detective floating there as well.  
"Just a few more and we have our first child" Sherlock promised she nodded and started to push again as the next contraction gripped her. John held a towel ready to catch his friends first born and with another five pushes in a gush of fluid their child was delivered into his hands. Sorrena fell back breathing heavy as she felt some thing warm placed on her chest. She opened her eyes to find a small pink human there. She instinctively wrapped her arms around it pulling it closer. Sherlock released one of her knees to cup his child with her. The baby gave a strong cry gulping in air and showing off it's lungs for the first time.  
"It's a boy" John offered as he watched the couple. For the first time since they had entered the room Sorrena turned to regard Sherlock fully she kissed him passionately and he returned it with his own excitement.  
"You have a son" she breathed. He pressed a tender kiss to her forehead despite the thick sweat wetting her brow and hair he had never seen her more beautiful.  
"As do you" he answered quietly when he pulled away.  
"The next baby is going to start moving soon Sorrena" John warned. She could already feel the contractions starting again.  
"Are you comfortable or do you want to move Sherlock asked concerned.  
"I...I'm fine here" she moaned.  
"Do you want to hold your son while you push or do you want Mrs. Hudson to take him?" John asked. Watching as the new mother held her baby close but her eyes squeezed shut as the contraction grew stronger faster then he expected. Their second child was eager to get out. She was starting to lose her grip on understanding as she felt the sharp pain tighten her middle.  
"You're going to want your arms free Rena, let take him" Sherlock nodded as the older women came close. Tears in her eyes as she slipped her hands under the couples new son bringing him softly to her chest.  
"He won't even leave the room" she promised as she stepped back. Sorrena moaned deep down in her chest as one strong contraction broke through and she bore down. Weak from laboring the whole day and already birthing one child the pain felt harder and her pushing weak. After twenty minutes of pushing she fell back.  
"I can't" she cried feeling the weight of her situation.  
"You can Rena." Sherlock corrected. She bore down for a few more pushes but she was only growing weaker, shaking in Sherlock's arms.  
"John" the younger mans voice connived all of his concern and fear for his lover as she cried tucked into him.  
"Jack we are going to move you so you are kneeling. Gravity will help you as you push" John and Sherlock helped her onto her knees through the pain. Sherlock kneeled on the bed in front of her to help keep her balanced, he became her anchor as she pushed. His eyes went between his laboring partner and their first born as their landlady bounced with him near the door way. Another few pushes as she could feel the familiar burning pain of crowning Spreading her knees a little wider. She pulled Sherlock's hand down to her opening so he could experience it was well.  
"You're so close, so nearly done" Sherlock encouraged as he felt his second borns head while it still moved inside it's mother. Sorrena managed to pull enough strength to give one long strong push delivering the head with a shriek of pain. Sherlock reached down to run his fingers over his child's face feeling the small nose and eye lids screwed shut. Sorrena fell forward into his arms exhausted.  
"You are so strong my Rena and I have never been more proud to be able to say I willing have tied myself to you, to have given my most guarded piece of myself to the women before me. With your head, and your heart. There is no other that could be so perfect for me" Sherlock whispered so no one but her could hear his words. She gave two more pushes with soft grunts and felt the baby slips from her in a slow push into their friends hands behind her. Sherlock helped the exhausted mother of two lie back as John placed their second child on her chest rubbing it with the towel till it gave a healthy squall and Sorrena's tears turned from ones of pain to ones of pure joy. John held out the surgical scissors for Sherlock after he tied off the cord letting the new father cut it. The after birth was delivered and quickly disposed of. Mrs. Hudson stepped forward holding their son out for Sherlock to take back. The new father looked terrified, not even trying to mask his emotions.  
" Its alright Sherlock" Sorrena encouraged letting him see her love and admiration for him in her eyes showing him every part of her affection for him, her trust in him. He gently took his son awkwardly adjusting and shifting till he rested against the head board with the baby wiggling on his chest. He looked over at his second born still being clutched by his lover with one brow crooked in question.  
"Girl" she answered.  
"Why don't we give them some time" John pushed back ushering their landlady out and closing the door. Sorrena watched Sherlock with his son smiling warmly.  
"Thank you" she breathed leaning over to capture his lips.  
"What for?" He asked looking away from his son for the first time since he was given him.  
"You kept your promise." Sherlock hummed in acknowledgment looking down at his tiny daughter.  
"Should I ask what happened to your face or your hand?" She asked eyeing the makeshift bandages.  
"Perhaps in a few day" Sherlock answered with a smirk. They settled into silence before Sorrena spoke up.  
"Everyone thinks we should get married" Sherlock's eyes got wide and he swallowed nervously.  
"I don't expect that from you. Just like before Sherlock. I expect you to be loyal to me, to our family. To help and support us in any way that you can but marriage is not for you and it's not for me. We are together and I'm perfectly satisfied with that, no changes required." Sherlock smiled.

"I love you Sorrena" he blurted suddenly looking startled my his own admission but her wide happy smile settled him.  
"I love you too Sherlock" they sat together holding their children bonding as a full family for the first time. They could hear thumping on the stairs and new voices. Two paramedics entered nervously. Looking at the two parents and their new babies who had been tucked neatly into cream colored onesies and pale green blankets. Both gifts from Sherlock's mother.  
"We were sent to take you to Bart's" the young man was nervously switching his weight back and forth" Sorrena looked to Sherlock with a bemused expressions  
"Mycroft" she guessed, no one else would be able to scare up and ambulance for them in the middle of a storm with half of London in a black out. Sherlock only shrugged in response.  
They helped Sorrena up onto the gurney with her daughter while Sherlock carried their son outside and into the vehicle, John was allowed to join them as their doctor. Within the hour they found themselves in a private room each child resting after their first feeding, Sherlock had been fascinated to watch as they suckled from Sorrena's breasts he had unnerved the nurses with his attention.

The couple had switched Slrrena now cuddled her son while Sherlock took time to cuddle his daughter in the chair near by.  
There was a soft knock on the door and the older Holmes looking almost nervous. Sorrena smiled and motioned him to join them.  
"I have come to offer my congratulations brother" he spoke stiffly obviously uncomfortable.  
"Thank you Mycroft" Sorrena looked to her partner as he stood.  
"For everything" Sorrena had no doubt the man had a lot to do with getting Sherlock to her to be at her side. He bowed his head to acknowledge her words.  
"And as a reward for the new uncle" Sherlock offered his child out carful as Mycroft took a startled step back from his younger sibling and his spawn.  
"I...I better not. Mummy just wanted to you to know she expects to hear from you by tonight about her grandchildren" Mycroft had fled as soon as he got the words out.  
"That was mean Zombie boy" Sorrena warned while Sherlock chuckled.  
"He will settle in time, he was always terrible with children" The detective smiled as his daughter made a small gurgling sound against his chest when he settled back into the chair. They both listened as the storm out side slowed into nothing more then an evening shower after a day of hurricane like weather.  
"Oh look at you as a new daddy" they heard from the door, Sorrena grinned ear to ear as her boss stepped in followed by her small pathologist friend John following in behind.  
"Did I see Mycroft fleeing a few minutes ago" John laughed clapping a hand on Sherlock's shoulder carefully. The medical staff had patched the detective up as soon as his girlfriend and children had been settled in, nothing more then a few stitches above his eye, heavily bruised ribs but thankfully nothing broken and his hand had been wrapped properly. Lestrade snapped a picture before Sherlock could stop him before crossing the room to greet his lab tech.  
"How are you feeling?" He asked kissing her forehead gently.  
"Better now that I'm not the size of a whale and my inside are no longer feel like they are on fire" she joked. Molly pushed forward to hug her as well carful not to brush the sleeping infant.  
"Oh Jack, they are so cute" she cooed as she gently brushed a hand over the babies back, he grunted snuggling closer to his mothers warmth. Sorrena looked around at their family surrounding them and smiled. She gave Sherlock a meaningful look and then glanced at Lestrade and Molly.  
"Would you like to hold my daughter?" He asked the DI who nodded eagerly taking her gently from her fathers arms.  
"Oh you look just like your daddy" Lestrade spoke softly to her taking her in. She had her fathers high checks and long narrow nose with Cupid bow lips softly pushed out as she frowned in her sleep. Her hair was thick and dark with definite curls while her twin brother had lighter hair more like their mother with her large eyes and button nose.  
"Your going to have a line of boys following you around" Lestrade teased and Sherlock's nose flared, frowning. Everyone in the room laughed.  
"John" Sorrena called to her friend, the man who had gotten them through it all.  
"Would you like to take him?" She offered and John blushed.  
"If you would don't mind" he lifted the baby gently and the infant cried out. John rocked him and he settled quickly.  
"After everything John, they are as much yours as they are ours" Sorrena smiled warmly.  
"So what did you name them?" Molly asked as she looked over Leatrades shoulder at the little girl as she opened their eyes blinking back from the lights over head showing off her blue eyes. Sorrena thought they would likely lighten to be more like her dad while her brother had the same blue green she had when she had been born.  
"Messamira Kaleitei Holmes, but you can call her Mira" Sorrena smiled kindly. It wasn't like Sherlock and herself would choose common names for their spawn. She looked to Sherlock who was standing near John watching his best friend, the most important man in his life holding his son.  
"His name is Archaiden Garathin Hamish Holmes" John gasped honored for what they had done for him and Sherlock gave him an honest and warm smile. The new mother frowned when she realized there would be one person she would never share this with, Sherlock moved to be beside her.

" He would be proud" he whispered as she smiled. Sorrena looked around agian finding so much love in the room she could do nothing but sit back and bask in it, Sherlock joined her in the bed and watched their family finding himself in a rare moment if pure happiness.

Woo! Ok. That took forever but it's done. There will be an epilogue and that one chapter I promised. I don't really have much to say but I hoped you like it. Please please let me know. I really want to see your reviews. I owe a special thanks to Littlebirdd my first, and SHshipssherlock, thank you both so so much. Till you see me next time. Thank you all.


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